


Labels

by ohhipstaplease



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Album: Made in the A.M. (One Direction), Babygate (One Direction), Body Image, Dad Jokes, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Major Original Character(s), Mostly humor, Mutual Pining, OT5 Friendship (One Direction), One Direction Break Up, One Direction Hiatus, One Direction Tours, Original Character(s), POV Original Female Character, Past Harry Styles/Original Female Character(s), Post-Zayn One Direction, Slow Burn, This is one huge love letter to harry styles, and my teenage years, get ready for a 700 page ride my friends, its a cute one i promise, okay mostly fluff, you'll feel warm inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 117
Words: 181,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28423140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohhipstaplease/pseuds/ohhipstaplease
Summary: "It doesn't matter what they say, Rae, don't let them define us."Reagan Bailey has just landed her first real job as One Direction's campaign manager. How? She isn't quite sure. But what she is sure of is that Harry Styles is nothing but trouble.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

It's not easy fitting into a world that you just weren't made to be a part of. It sounds cliche and it sounds like typical teenage angst, but it's true. The world is drawn into categories, cliques, labels, and people who comply with them. People abide by these categorizations, follow them as rigidly as they can. They have been conditioned to believe that if they break the status quo, that something catastrophically wrong is going to happen, that it would be the end of the fucking world as they knew it. So when she looked into his face, his dreamy face, she knew that it was just that, a dream. As a size sixteen nobody, Reagan knew that she would never get to meet anyone like him.

"Okay..." She mumbled looking up at the large billboard, "That's just unfair."

She stood in front of it, analyzing the four smiling faces back at her. There was, of course, a display of cheesy grins, but the one with the shirt unbuttoned just a button too low and the long hair had a cocky smirk. He had recently trimmed his curls and it looked as if he was forced to wear long sleeves to cover up the mass array of tattoos. The ad was massive, taking up the whole side of the street, and as she stood before it people paused and snickered. She had stood in front of the ad for much too long and upon realizing it snapped out of her daze and kept walking, one heel clacking in front of the other, hoping that no one had noticed her gawking.

It had been approximately six weeks since Reagan had applied for an internship at the label she had been directed to by her professor. An internship was exactly what she needed in order to come out ahead of her graduating class, and what better way than to apply to the only label that was actually looking for interns. So she took the semester off and dedicated it to her internship, it was practical, really. 

Since she had received the job, she had spent the better part of her days toting coffee to and from the building, and if on an off chance some agent was too lazy to do some PR work, she picked up the slack. She was diligent, and she was hardworking, but in an unforgiving world, she was simply below par to her older colleagues.

She passed another billboard before entering the building and had to restrain herself from looking. The boys of One Direction had been recently signed to record at her label, a huge switch that the company was a buzz about. There were posters and billboards of them everywhere, and it felt as if their stare followed her with every step. She thought the marketing strategy was too creepy, as cute as the boys may be. They needed billboards that promoted them without leaving people feeling as if they were being stalked. She wanted to bring it up to the head of the department, but she quickly realized that along with One Direction came a change in management and staff.

Luckily, since they were only working for a few months, interns were allowed to stay. Hopping onto the elevator, without coffee for the first time in weeks, Raegan pushed the number 22 and is instantly transported to her floor. Though as soon as she gets out off, she is instantly nudged into a corner of what was the intern's former office and is stared at by the other college students. Some snickered, some tittered, but mostly she was ignored. She was grateful though, at her size, it was nearly impossible being ignored. She wanted to have fit within the small corner, but her hips would never have allowed it. Although Reagan knew being overweight isn't terrible unless of course, you're breaking into the business. Her round face and muffin top don't exactly scream "Glamour", thus she was stuck with working behind the scenes and under the radar, without the honor of meeting any of the huge names she worked for.

"Reagan Bailey?"

"That's me!" She yelled awkwardly, her hand shooting up in the air.

"Great." Said a tiny, bird-like woman at the front of the room, "Come with me."

"Okay." Reagan grabbed her bag and moved towards her. Her shoes dug into the back of her ankle, and she could already feel the skin rupturing. Silently she cursed herself for trying to look cute by wearing heels on the one day she had been expected to walk around.

"Reagan, I'm Lydia. I'm with Columbia Records." The woman says walking three steps in front of her, cell phone glued to her palm.

"Nice to meet you."

"Now, I'm sure you've been informed as to why this major change is happening."

"Something about a label change?"

"Yes. That's basically the gist of it." She types on her phone at top speed and continues walking, "Now, do you know why you're here?"

"Someone needs coffee?"

She stops and turns to face Reagan with a smile upon her face, "Funny. But no, unfortunately, you actually have work to do."

"Do I?"

"You're here as a PR intern aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I understand you were behind the last campaign this label did, weren't you?"

"I wouldn't say I did it, but..."

"Don't be modest. Everyone knows it's the interns that run these places."

Reagan blushed, shifting her weight onto her other foot, feeling that the back of her ankle was being rubbed raw, "Still, I had a lot of help."

"Regardless, the boys are releasing a new album in a few months and we're looking for a fresh start with the campaign."

"As in One Direction?" She asked, trying to keep her cool.

Lydia looked at her as if she were stupid, "Yes? Anyways, we liked your work and wanted you to begin the campaign for the new album. The last album didn't get as much publicity as it should have, and we really want to change that."

"Yeah, I saw the last campaign."

"Not that great was it?"

"It wasn't the best."

"Well, we want the best." She said with a slight wink.

Reagan laughed nervously, "I'm flattered."

"Alright, let's get to work then." She turned to walk into the depths of the hall, the land where no intern was allowed. It was restricted solely to the heads of the label, the managers, and of course the recording artists.

As Reagan turned to head to what's left her tiny cubicle, Lydia's hand shoots out and grabs her arm, "Reagan, where are you going?"

"...To...work?"

"Sweetie, you're not working that pit of an office anymore. "

"Where will I be working then, Lydia?"

She turns towards the forbidden hallway and smirks, "Consider it a promotion."

—✴—

Deep within the studio, Harry was restless. His leg bounced and his eyes kept shifting and all he wanted was out. He had already finished recording his parts, and all that was left was feedback and Niall's guitar solos. He knew he wouldn't be needed for the rest of the day...

"No, Harry. At least another hour." His manager Paul said, knowing all of his tell-tale signs. 

"Oh, come on. We're done for the day."

"No, you're done for the day. The rest of the boys aren't."

"Can't I just—"

"No! Stay put and wait for everyone else to be done."

He looked around and got up, "I can at least go to the loo right? You can allow me to do that?"

"Yeah, you can do that." Paul said with a smile, "Just remember, security is positioned at the end of the hall, at the entrance and exit, and of course, on your ass! So if you pull anything, I'm coming for you personally!"

"Whatever," Harry said, pushing past Paul and towards the door. As soon as it opens and he can finally see something other than the wood-paneled walls he felt a calm rush over him. He took his time walking to the bathroom, one boot going slowly in front of the other. 

He was getting tired of the constant sheltering, of the constant bodyguards and tabloids and rules. He turned slightly and felt someone was following him, and of course, it was one of the guards. The guard only slightly nodded and kept an eye on the curly-headed boy. 

It had been five years since the beginning of it all, five long years. As much as he may have loved his fans and his music, it was all slightly tarnished by the way he was being forced to live his life. He was supposed to act a certain way, to speak a certain way, all so that he would be labeled appropriately. When he refused to do so, he simply got relabeled and was watched more carefully. No more solo interviews, no more talking to fans. His label was supposed to stick this time, and he couldn't do much to change that. He knew he was branded as a product, he knew that Harry Styles wasn't really the Harry Styles he was, and it sucked. If it wasn't for him constantly fighting the inevitable, he wasn't sure he would still be the same person he was when it all had started, and it was a scary thought. 

When he finally reached the bathroom, he needed to take a breath. He leaned against the wall only to hear a frustrated voice on the other side.

"Breathe Reagan. You're not even going to be introduced to them. What are the chances of that? None. Now get your act together, go into that fucking room, and own it."

When things got rather bad, Reagan Bailey would always attempt a pep talk. There she stood, barefoot, in the bathroom, in front of a mirror, attempting to convince herself that everything would be okay. The back of her ankles was rubbed raw and bleeding profusely, but at that point, she didn't care. She just continued talking to her reflection firmly.

"Who the fuck is Harry Styles anyway? He's just a guy. He's a famous guy, who doesn't like to cut his hair, and wears his shirts too unbuttoned. You don't even like that band! You're going to be intimidated by that Reagan? By that hipster-looking twig?"

The door slammed open and a booming voice said, "Hipster looking twig? That's a new one."

In the reflection of the mirror, she stood before she looked in horror at the face she had seen not an hour earlier plastered upon billboard after billboard. He simply smirked at her, almost the same look his face gave her earlier that morning when he was nothing more than a picture.

Harry chuckled, obviously amused. It had been a while since he was allowed to talk to anyone other than those who had been cleared for interaction, and seeing this girl worked up in the boy's loo made him giddy. 

She on the other hand was anything but. She snapped out of her daze, quickly saying, "What the hell are you doing in here. This is the ladies' room!"

He shook his head, "Are you new here?"

"What?"

"You're an intern, aren't you?"

"Why does that..."

"On this side of the building, the ladies' room is on the other side."

She looked around for the first time and noticed the urinals. She was utterly mortified, and she panicked. The Reagan that was confident, cool, and charming disappeared within an instant and instead, she grabbed her bag and yelled, "I have to go."

She sprinted out of the bathroom, only to realize she had forgotten her shoes. But that didn't stop her from running, she just went fast and faster, almost as if hoping she could outrun the embarrassment.

"Wait! Your shoes!" He said running after her. He could see that she was bleeding and cursed himself for teasing her without even knowing her. He had just been so yearning for the human interaction that he couldn't help himself. 

"Hey!" Harry heard two guards yell at him and he simply picked up his speed after the mystery girl. He hadn't even gotten her name, just her blood-stained heels.  
But Reagan didn't stop, she was well aware that she was barefoot, but she didn't care. She just kept running until she reached the staircase. She knew twenty-two floors was ambitious, but she needed to get away, she needed to run. 

"Wait!" He yelled, and he tried his hardest to catch up with her. Her heels clacked in his hands, and the sounds of walkie talkies filled the empty hall.  
"He's on the loose again, seal all exits!"

Reagan heard him catching up, and as soon as she reached the heavy metal door to the staircase she opened it and slammed it shut. Only to hear a loud thud soon after closing.  
She opened the door a crack, praying that the thud had been something else. But it wasn't. As soon as she opened the door she saw the international pop star, passed out on the floor, her heels strewn around him. 

"Harry?" She said from behind the door only to hear nothing but walkie talkies and hushed whispers. 

And she knew she had fucked up royally. Best case scenario: Harry was okay and she would be fired. Worst case scenario? She killed Harry fucking Styles and her own life would soon be over.


	2. Chapter 2

Reagan closed the door and leaned against it, afraid that if she opened it, that would be the end of her. There was so much security around Harry, so many people. She was utterly terrified. Reagan fucked up, plain and simple. She was convinced it was the end of her job, the end of her career. She hadn't even graduated and already she was done in the business. 

"Fuck." She muttered stomping the cold concrete under her. 

Harry though was alright, or about as alright as he could be after hitting a steel door at full speed. He was an awkward, clumsy guy, like a newborn baby dear. Everyone around him knew that, and it was their job to make sure that he didn't cause too much damage to himself.   
Ultimately though, it was inevitable. Harry was always defying everyone and in turn was constantly falling, tripping, and getting hurt. He was used to it. That door though managed to knock him out cold for a minute or two. But when he finally came to, he remembered what had happened and shooed all the worried guards away from him. He was more worried about the girl who had run away, "Hey." He uttered, trying to make sure she could hear him through the door. 

She opened it slowly to see him still lying on the floor, guards looking at her curiously. 

"I'm..." He tried to sit up and consequently fell over. He swore and reached for the shoes, "Your shoes, just take your bloody shoes."

"Sorry," She said stepping out from behind the door and grabbing her heels. She tiptoed over him and grabbed her stained heels. 

He chuckled, still laying upon the cold floor, "You know, I think that Cinderella never knocked the prince out."

"I'm no Cinderella." She said putting her shoes back on.

He winced, knowing that it had to have hurt putting them back on, "Don't they hurt?" He asked, finally able to sit up. 

"Beauty is pain, isn't it?"

He laughed, "Is that why I keep getting hurt?"

"Oh, I knew it." She said with a smile.

"Knew what?"

"You do tell terrible jokes."

He winced, "So first you enter the men's room, then you make me chase you down the hall, you close that bloody steel door in my face, and now you insult me? I don't even know your name yet..."

"Reagan." She said looking down at the ground and pushing back a strand of blonde hair. 

"Now, Reagan," He said getting up, "Who told you I tell terrible jokes?"

She smiled, "Have you ever seen yourself in an interview?"

"I'm quite funny." He said with a shrug.

"Right, is that why you get so much talking time?" 

He looked at the guards who were smirking at Reagan's retorts and shook his head, "Go, I can't get into much trouble if I'm still a tad disoriented, can I?"

"We can't..."

"Yes, you can. Just tell Paul I'm still in the loo. Can you do that?"

The look at each other and the one in the front simply replied, "For the love of God, just don't get hurt again."

"Scout's honor," Harry said, giving a two-finger salute. 

As they walked away Harry turned to Reagan and looked her up and down. He didn't mean to, but he wanted a good look at her. She was medium height, long blonde hair, a curvy figure, with an impeccable smile. Her eyes were almost the same shade as his. 

"What are you looking at?" She said, trying to hold her own.

"Nothing! Still a tad out of it I'm afraid."

"Well, thank you for my shoes." She said pointing to her feet.

"You aren't seriously going to walk around with those on, are you?"

"Being barefoot didn't really work out for me, did it?"

He stared at her, before suddenly remembering that he had something in his wallet. He pulled it out of his back pocket and handed it to her.

"A band-aid?"

"Wait." He said shifting through an assortment of papers and cards and bills, "Here you go."

"Two band-aids? Wait...are these Hello Kitty band-aids?"

He took them out of her hand and bent down, she blushed immediately, "Wait, no, I can do it!"

"It's alright, you've probably had a worse day than me."

"That can be argued." She stepped out of her shoes and once more felt the cold floor beneath her.

"Yeah, well, it's not my job that's on the line." He said, pasting the first band-aid on. 

"Fuck." She muttered.

"Forgot about that, did we?"

"Thanks for everything, but I really do have to go." She said, slipping her shoe back on and feeling almost immediate relief with the pink barrier Harry had provided. 

"You know, I never told you my name." He said, sticking his hands in his pockets and smiling.

"Ah, well, didn't think you had to."

"Harry Styles." He stuck out his hand. 

"Reagan Bailey." She replied, shaking it. 

"Well, Reagan, what do you say we walk back together?"

"Weren't you supposed to be in the bathroom?"

He shrugged, "Technically I was. They're lucky I'm even coming back."

"Harry Styles, egotistical klutz, who would have thought."

"We don't have to walk back together, you know. I can just let you take the fall for everything."

"For what!? I didn't even do anything?"

"Really? You didn't knock me out?"

Reagan pouted, "Fine, whatever."

She walked in front of him, her heels clicking loudly. He tried to catch up with her, but she wouldn't have it. She didn't want to get into more trouble. She was already supposed to have been in the office about fifteen minutes ago, they were going to think she flaked on them. And then there was the whole Harry thing, how was she supposed to explain where she was if she arrived with him in tow?

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Room 435."

"Oh, that's where I came from."

She stopped and Harry almost bumped into her, "Wait. Is that a studio?"

"Yeah?"

"Where you're recording?"

"Is that not what you're supposed to be doing in a studio?"

"I can't go in there!" She said in a panic.

"What, why?"

"Because! I...I..."

"You're afraid of famous people?"

"Well, yeah."

"Really, well, that explains why you ran away from me."

Reagan laughed, "Yeah."

"You're talking to me now aren't you?"

She nodded.

"I'm famous."

"Yeah."

"So, the guys are just guys. Everyone just happens to think they know us. Famous is just a label, Reagan. Don't let it get to your head like that."

She smiled, "You know if it weren't for the jokes and the falling I'd say you're a pretty well put together guy."

He chuckled, "Story of my life." Harry looked at Reagan and tilted his head in the direction of the door, "Well, are we going to do this?"

"Yeah. Let's do it."  
Reagan didn't understand why, but she trusted him. It was one of those unexplainable moments in life where you felt a certain pull towards someone. Usually, you don't get those pulls towards someone you've never met, but with Harry she did. She had an inkling everyone did, he just had that kind of energy. She felt comfortable with him, something she rarely felt with anyone. And it was stupid, really, because she knew he was doing it because it was who he was. She might not have known him personally, and she may have read the barrage of tabloids and gossip columns, but she knew better than to believe them. This was Harry Styles, a gawky, awkward guy who runs after chubby girls when they forget their shoes. He carries Hello Kitty band-aids in his wallet because he gets hurt so often. Who makes you believe in yourself, if even for a fleeting moment. 

"Reagan?"

"Yeah?"

His hand was on the handle, "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."


	3. Chapter 3

Reagan had never been afraid of much, it came with the territory. She had to be strong in order to counter the many who made smart remarks and judged her based on her appearance. Being a size 16 in a size 0 world is the most infuriating thing one could ever encounter, but for Reagan, it was a matter of realizing that no matter what you do, you will never be aesthetically pleasing. So she strove to be a good person, an intelligent person, someone with substance and worth. Yet even as you come to terms with that fact, you still try your hardest to convince yourself that there could be some way that you could pass off as normal. That someone somewhere will love you regardless of what you look like. And Reagan still had that hope, that wasn't gone. She knew she wasn't the most beautiful person in the world, but she hoped that someday she would be to someone. 

When she came to work at what is now known as Columbia Records, she wasn't very much nervous. She was sure of her capabilities, of what she could do. Before working there she worked at the label her father currently worked at, Big Machine Records, and did a lot of the social media work. Her resume had the experience that college students could only dream of having, and her skills only blossomed because of it. It didn't matter if her colleagues thought her fat, or weird, or stupid. She was sure of who she was and she knew she did a damn good job, so she didn't pay any mind to those people. 

So why did this moment have her so incredibly nervous? She couldn't understand it. It was something about meeting him, about meeting all of them. They had her unraveling at the seams. Of course, she had been working for a company that dealt with huge celebrities, but she personally never had to deal with them. She was used to everyone else making snap decisions about her, she truly was. Ultimately Harry was right, famous was just a label, a placeholder. He was no different from her, none of them were. Yet, there she stood, in front of that door, knees trembling and heart racing. 

But the door swung open, and before her stood three boys, each minding their own business, looking terribly bored. There was an angry looking man with a cell phone to his ear, and little Lydia perched on a window sill. 

There was nothing to be afraid of, at least for her. 

"And where the fuck were you!?" Paul asked Harry, moving toward him in large, angry strides.

"The loo?"

"Yeah? We get bruises from the toilets now?" He said angrily poking Harry's forehead, right in the blossoming purple mark the door had left. 

"I slipped," Harry said calmly, rubbing his forehead.

"Did you now? Seems to be the fucking story of your life."

"See, I told you," Harry said with a wink towards Reagan.

There was an awkward lull, and as Harry looked at the boys they looked back at him and then at the strange girl beside him.

"Who is this then?" Asked the eldest. His scruffy hair was scruffier than usual, and he held a thick notepad in his hand. 

"I'm Reagan."

"Louis," He said with a nod and smile, "It's a pleasure."

"Boys." Lydia said getting up and walking towards the middle of the room, "This is your new campaign manager. She'll be in charge of the PR for your new album."

"Awfully young, isn't she?" Said the boy with the guitar upon his lap. He smiled when he locked eyes with Reagan, "Niall by the way. Not being rude, just saying. Our last campaign person was at least eighty."

Harry shook his head, "She was forty-two, Niall."

"Yeah, okay."

"She didn't look eighty, stop being an ass." Piped up the other one in the corner, he held a notepad identical to Louis', "Oh, I'm Liam." Ever the proper man he rose and walked across the room to give Reagan a handshake, she took it firmly with a smile.

"Anyways," Lydia said clearing her throat, "Reagan will be in here for the next few weeks listening to your tracks and getting your opinions on what you want the vibe of your next album to be. Usually, we don't give you much say, I know, but considering how the last album went..."

"It sucked," Niall said strumming a chord.

"Thank you, Niall," Lydia said with a huff. "Well, we know it was bad. So let's try to fix it, yeah?"

"Yeah." The boys said in unison, obviously already accustomed to Lydia's talks.

"Alright, well, I know you've had a long morning, so maybe we can call it day for to-"

"Nice seeing you," Niall said, quickly putting his guitar in its case and running towards the door.

Paul leans against it before Niall could even grab the handle, "Nice try. But we're not calling it a day."

"She just said!" Niall said pointing towards Lydia.

"She isn't your manager is she?"

"Fucking bullshit," Niall muttered under his breath, moving back to the small bench he had previously been sitting upon.

"What was that?" Paul asked.

"Nothing."

"You boys have one last thing to do," Paul said, disregarding a pouting Niall muttering to himself. 

"And what would that be?" Harry asked, still standing beside Reagan.

"Well, I believe the decent thing would be trying to get to know Reagan since she's in charge of all your PR for this album you've all been working on so hard."

"Oh, no. If they're tired, it's okay. We can start tomorrow." Reagan said shaking her hands in front of her.

Paul put a hand on her shoulder, "Love if you start being easy on them now, they'll always be getting away with shit."

"Not true." Louis said from across the room, "If you start being easy on us now, we have a better chance of getting along though."

"I'll second that," Liam said with a smirk.

"Look, just for a little while, okay boys? Stop busting my balls." Paul pleaded with them. 

Harry shrugged and smiled at Reagan, "Well, at least it doesn't sound like work."

"Speak for yourself." Reagan quipped. 

Lydia smiles, "You know, that actually isn't a bad idea. What better way to start a campaign than to get to know the client. Reagan," She turns to look at the now seemingly less nervous girl, "We will leave you to it."

And with that, Lydia coaxes Paul out of the room, and the boys are left with their new campaign manager. 

"Alright." She said, nervously stepping forward. Harry crosses his arms and doesn't move an inch, simply stands behind Reagan and waits for her to continue. "So, as Lydia said my name is Reagan...and I don't know how I got into this mess, but somehow I'm now in charge of your PR campaign for your new album."

"What do you mean you don't know how you got into this mess? Didn't you apply for this job?" Niall said with a furrowed brow, his Irish accent making it a bit difficult for Reagan to understand.

"Yes...but I applied to be an intern. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've done campaigns before, I just..."

"Was never in charge?" Harry said with a smirk.

"Well, you must be fucking amazing if they're giving you this gig," Louis said without looking up from his note pad. When he finally did, he smiled brightly at Reagan and she felt better almost within an instant. 

"What other bands have you worked with Reagan?" Liam asks from across the room. 

"Oh, um. Well...I kind of worked with another company last year, um, Big Machine Records. I did a lot of work for the 1989 album, mostly just Twitter stuff and things like that." She said turning about five different shades of red.

"Right off the bat, you got to work with Taylor Swift's team?" Liam said, his mouth a bit open in shock. 

"Well, not exactly. It doesn't work that way, guys. I was just one out of thousands, really. I never even met her." 

Harry smirked, "That's a good thing."

"Wait, did things really not end that well with you guys?"

"Try listening to the tracks on the album you helped promote. Then ask him that question again." Niall said laughingly.

Harry simply rolled his eyes, "Let's talk about something else, can we?"

"Okay, well maybe we can talk about what your album name is. Just so I can grasp what you want this campaign to be like."

"Five!" Harry said loudly.

"NO!" All three boys yelled in unison. 

Reagan sighed, "Oh, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?"


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR

Although Harry wanted so badly to leave the studio earlier, with Reagan there it didn't feel like work anymore. She was genuinely trying to get their input, and even though the band was still indecisive about a lot of what they wanted to do, she was patient and understanding. Certainly, a great change of pace to being told what to do and abiding by rules. It was exhilarating for him, it really was. He felt as if he was finally being treated like a person, as a real fucking person, and that brought out the best in him. 

"But really..." He asked, pacing around the small space, "Why can't it be 'Five'?" 

Okay, maybe best was not the correct word. 

"We are not going over this again," Louis said rubbing his temples. 

The room smelled of garlic and was overly warm from the four boxes of pizza they had delivered earlier. A little while turned into an entire afternoon it seemed. The boys were lazily strewn upon the floor, Niall picking at a pizza box that was mostly empty, and Liam shook his head while finishing his own slice. 

Reagan looked at her watch and her eyes widened, "We can call it a day and discuss it tomorrow, what do you guys think?"

"Already?" Liam said, wiping his hands on a napkin.

"It's half-past four," Reagan replied.

"What!? We've been in here that long?"

"And we've barely gotten anything done." Harry huffed.

"I think we did a decent amount." Reagan said with a smile, "I have a good idea of what we can do."

"But we don't have an album name." He countered.

"Don't worry about that yet. Right now, we just have to promote you guys, right? We just have to make sure everyone is pumped and excited for your new album. We can just do a countdown to album name reveal or something like that."

"You think?"

"Yeah, it's not a problem. We should clean up, shouldn't we?" 

Liam nodded and picked up the four boxes, no problem. While he walked out to dispose of the trash, the rest of the boys collected their things and Reagan went to go get her bag. Harry wandered over to her and leaned against the wall studying her. 

"What?" She asked, avoiding his look.

"You didn't eat anything." He said with a worried face.

"So?"

"You have to be quick, or the boys will beat you to it."

"I wasn't very hungry."

"Well, next time I guess."

"Yeah." He said, excited about the prospect of a next time for some reason. "You're good at this job." He muttered, looking away from her. 

"It's only my first day."

"Yeah, but you managed to get us to do work, without making it seem like we were actually working."

"That's because we were talking the entire time." She said, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Because we were talking, exactly. We're more used to be talked to." He replied with a shrug.

"That sucks."

"That's business."

"We're heading off," Liam says with a wave, the other two boys behind him. "Are you coming with, Harry." The other two boys turned to look at him worriedly, almost pleading him to go with them.

"No. I'll find my own way home, don't worry about me."

"Are you sure that's the best idea, mate?" Louis said questioningly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Harry reassured them.

"See you tomorrow then, but please just go home, Haz. Nice meeting you Reagan!"

Reagan smiled as the boys left and she was left behind with the curly-haired boy, and then it struck her, "You don't have a ride do you?"

He smirked, "You know me so well already."

—✴—

Just as Reagan had her complexes, so did Harry. Five years in the business tended to do that to a person. He is known to hide under a facade of synthetic cheerfulness to be able to survive, because survival, he was told the first day of his new life, was solely on him. He had to learn how to become detached, unfeeling, unemotional. But he couldn't do it, he wears his emotions on his sleeve, and perhaps that is the biggest problem of all. He was so open, that it seems as if people misinterpret him from the get-go. And yet who he remains a mystery. To all those around him, he is held in such high esteem that he has lost sight of himself. His downfall has become the word he has been labeled since he was sixteen, it has made people look past what makes him who he truly is, only to focus on the shiny coated exterior that made him what the world saw. Underneath the mossy eyes, the defined face, and the cheeky demeanor, he was anything but what the world saw in him. He just didn't know what that anything was. He did not know who he was anymore, everything that he wanted to be was in constant flux. 

He constantly thought back to the day One Direction almost was no more. The day that the fifth, and no longer member of the group walked away from it all. Zayn was brave enough to leave it all behind, to claim that none of it defined him, but Harry knew better. He knew that all this, that it would always define him. But it was how he would define himself in the end that would really matter. And perhaps after watching Zayn walk away, all the boys seemed more aware of that notion. They were all a little lost, but they knew better than to walk away.

But the moment he ran into Reagan, he felt something shift. He knew he could tally it to the head injury he sustained in chasing after her, but that would be the easy way out. He wanted to know what it was that he felt changing, so he gave it his all. 

As they walked out of the recording studio, and about a few steps down the hall, Harry grabbed Reagan's hand and pulled her towards a corridor. She felt her heartbeat quicken as he pressed her against one of the stucco walls and put his hand over her mouth, "Shhh. If we want to make it out of here with no one following us, you need to follow my lead."

She slapped his hand away, "I did NOT sign up for this." She said in a harsh whisper.

"Well, you're here now. So if you want to avoid any trouble," He said with a smirk, "I'd just go along with it."

She silently swore to herself, she knew she was going to really get it if someone found them together. It took her just as long to realize that perhaps Harry wasn't allowed to drive home with anyone but the boys or a guard. "Fuck." She muttered under her breath.

"SHH!" Harry said turning to face her. 

He peeked behind the wall and made a flurry of weird hand gestures toward her. She slapped him behind the head, "What the hell are you doing!? Just say if the coast is clear or not!"  
"I just wanted to make it seem like an actual mission."

"If this were an actual mission, you wouldn't be in charge!"

"Well I am, and the coast is clear, so let's go." He pulled her toward him and moved quietly down the hallway towards the opposite staircase. 

Reagan never having been on that particular side of the building, was petrified. If at least she knew where she was she would be calmer. But somehow they managed to make it to the door, and out the stairway. That is until they heard, "He's gone! He didn't leave with the rest of them did he!?" And Harry began running. He grabbed Reagan's hand tightly in his and started pulling her down the staircase the fastest they could. 

She yelled, "I can't run in heels!"

So he stopped for an instant and yelled, "Take them off!" She did as she was told and picked her shoes off the ground, and they began running again. Harry took the shoes from her hands and held her tightly with his free hand. They heard again, "Down the stairway! Get him before Paul fires us!"

"Where did you leave your car?" He asked her as he jumped off the last step.

"I parked on the street!"

"Why would you park on the bloody street!"

"Because I didn't know I was going to become Harry Styles' chauffeur! Normally I can park on the side of the fucking street because I don't have a shitload of guards," she takes a breath "chasing after me!"

"Which street?" He asked, disregarding her rant. 

"Spring."

He took a sharp left as soon as they reach the outside, almost letting Reagan slam into a wall, "You're going to fucking kill me!" She said, reeling from the too-close call.

"Don't be dramatic." He retorted.

They could hear the guards still running after them, and Reagan prayed that they didn't know she was with Harry. 

They ran down the street, her barefoot with her Hello Kitty band-aids on each ankle, and him with his shirt almost flying open and his skinny legs trying to lead them away from the studio.   
"That's my car!" She yelled.

He pushed her to the other side of the street while she opened the car with her automatic key. She jumped in, and Harry followed shortly. She turned the ignition, and drove. 

Harry turned to look out the window, almost in awe. He brushed back his curls and re-buttoned his shirt, laughing loudly, "We made it! We made it!"

Reagan wanted to scream at him, to choke him, but she couldn't. The adrenaline, the rush, the relief, they were all mixing together and she couldn't help but laugh loudly. They had made it! No one saw her with him! 

When they managed to settle down, Reagan asked, "Where am I leaving you?"

Harry sat back comfortably and responded, "Why don't we just drive for a while?"


	5. Chapter 5

In her twenty-one years, Reagan had never experienced something quite like the day she had just had. Beside her was Harry fucking Styles, they had just escaped from his bodyguards, he had just pressed her against a wall and held her hand for a good five minutes. This had all just happened, it wasn't a dream. There was a boy in her car, an attractive and annoying boy who had a terrible sense of balance and like his adrenaline rushes far too much.

"Reagan, turn a right here. I'm thinking we should go do something fun, yeah?"

Within an instant, Reagan snapped back to reality, "Are you kidding me!? You are going home and keeping at least fifty feet away from me! You're nothing but trouble!"

"I think there's a song about me being trouble." He chuckled.

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Where am I dropping you off?"

"I'm not telling you. I'm not in the mood to go home yet."

"Nowhere in my job description does it say 'Harry Styles' babysitter'. You have more than enough guards to do that."

"Spectacular job they're doing."

"Please, Harry, just go home."

"Why can't we just spend a little more time together?"

"Why can't you just go home?" Reagan countered, turning to look at him after stopping at the light.

"Friends hang out, don't they?"

"Since when are we friends?"

He looked at his watch, "Since about 10:45 this morning."

She sighed loudly, "Harry, aren't you tired?"

"I'm feeling quite alright actually."

"I'm tired." She said, waiting for the light to change.

"Maybe you shouldn't wear heels."

"Maybe you could try not including me when you're being chased."

He huffed, "Come on, Rae, let's go have some fun."

"Rae?" She said, stepping on the gas and continuing down the busy street.

"You know, like a ray of sunshine?"

"Oh, God." She muttered, shaking her head.

"Come on, please? Can we go do something."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Huh. Well know that I think about it, it's still rather light out."

"It's only five."

"Maybe we should wait it out."

"How long do you plan on keeping me!?"

"Long enough."

"You're going home! Where is it?"

"Where is my home? One could wonder that for years and never quite figure it out..." He said, staring out the window stoically.

Reagan broke the first rule of driving and took one hand off the wheel to hit Harry squarely in the chest, "What the fuck!" He yelled.

"Either you tell me where you live, or I'm dropping you at the nearest teen infested spot I find."

He winced, "Does it really have to come to this?"

She stayed silent.

"Come on, let's go to the beach."

"What are you going to do at the beach."

"We're going to walk around for a while. And, well, I do live near there."

"Do you really?"

"Yeah, about five minutes away."

She sighed, "Alright."

They drove in silence, Harry had put the directions in to the GPS and Reagan followed diligently. He felt at peace. It had been a long while since he had done something like this. He watched the road he traveled often roll by him, and it seemed different from the new angle.

Reagan on the other hand was on edge. She wasn't quite sure why Harry refused to leave, but it unsettled her. She wasn't very used to having company. It was usually her and her younger sister that were always together, that was really the only person she was used to. Why this boy, this charming and exciting boy had chosen her to bother, she wasn't quite sure. It only arose worry in her.

"Rae?"

"Yeah?"

He stretched out in his seat and looked at her, "You ever think about leaving it all behind?"

She furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

"Like starting over, I don't, starting from fresh."

"You mean like Zayn?"

"Kind of."

There was an awkward lull, but she dared to ask, "That was hard, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. It was."

"You ever blame him for it?"

He shook his head, "You can't blame him for wanting to be something other than famous."

"What about you?" She asked, feeling her heart beating faster, "Do you ever want to be anything else?"

Another red light, another pause in the conversation. He turned to look at her now, every word accented with a melancholic longing, "I just want to be me."

She looked at him then, really looked into his eyes. And she knew, she knew that who he was then, was someone that he didn't want to be. She had seen it before, little glimpses, in frozen pictures and rolling tapes, but never had she seen it as strongly as she did the moment he let his guard down for that split second.

 _"You have arrived at your destination."_ Pinged the robotic voice, and they both broke from the momentary lapse in reality.

"You know," Harry said with a slight smile, "You can just take me home. I know you've had quite a day."

Reagan parked, turned off the car, and turned to face him, "We're already here, and suddenly, I'm feeling quite alright." She said with a smirk.

She stepped out of the car, and remembered how painful it would be to walk with her heels, Harry noticed her hesitation and simply said, "You don't need shoes for the beach, Rae." And pulled off his own leather boots and socks to make her feel comfortable.

"We still have to walk to the beach." She said looking at him as if he were mad.

"It's only a few feet, what's the worst that could happen?"

And so they began walking towards the sand, the beach relatively deserted. She looked around in amazement, "I've lived here almost my entire life and I didn't know this place existed."

"That's because it's a private beach." He said with a secretive smile.

"Who's is it?"

"Louis', quite the investor he is."

"I didn't know you could buy a beach..."

"Well, if you own the house in front of it..." He pointed toward the massive house and Reagan felt her jaw go a bit ajar.

"Sorry, still getting used to the whole famous and rich thing." She said turning away, her face starting to get red.

"Well, at least we have some privacy, you know?"

"Yeah. It's a beautiful view." She added.

"Uhuh." He said looking down at his toes in the hot sand. They stood before the crystal blue water now, the sun starting to slowly set.

Harry felt so uneasy, it was strange. Just a few moments ago he had felt so utterly well, so incredibly relaxed, but now standing beside Reagan something was bothering him. He didn't know what it was, but maybe it was something having to do with the fact that he had let his guard so easily around her, when not even the boys could get him to say three words about Zayn having left. It was mad, utterly mad. She hadn't even prodded him, it just came out.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

She turned to look at him, her hands behind her back and her hair whipping furiously in the humid, salty air, "I think this is okay."

"What is?" He said, not daring to look at her.

"This friendship thing, I think it'll be okay."

And then she turned and smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

Friends, he could do that. At least, he thought he could. 


	6. Chapter 6

12 hours, 25 minutes, and 4 seconds. That was how long Reagan went without thinking about her weight. It was a new record for her, and she didn't quite know how to feel about it. There was a constant gnawing thought in the back of her mind, and she never knew how to silence it. She was so used to it, so incredibly used to the "Oh god, I hope my hips don't look huge." and "Can they see the love handles on my back under my bra?" that when it was silent for this long she questioned it. She wondered why it had stopped, and why now that she remembered it purposely, it didn't start up back again.

12 hours, it was 12 hours ago that she had met Harry, 25 minutes ago they had decided to go home, and 4 seconds ago she had plopped upon her bed to think about what had just happened. It had been when she stood before that billboard that she last thought about her appearance, wondering if her outfit was up to par along with her philosophical thoughts about the world around her.

"Late night?" Her younger sister Kennedy asked laying down beside her.

"Yeah, I guess."

"How was your day?"

She groaned and Kennedy laughed.

"That bad?"

Reagan thought back to the morning she had spent running and her throbbing ankles, but smiled nonetheless, "It was trying, to say the least."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I got a promotion."

"Did you? Dad's gonna be glad to hear that."

"Yeah. If we ever see him." She said pointedly.

"What are you doing now?"

"Oh, um, campaign manager for a band's album."

"That's so cool! You get to manage your own team now right?"

Reagan hadn't even thought about that. Fuck, "I guess so."

"Any band I know."

She shook her head, "You know it's confidential."

"But..."

"No. Last time I told you, your friends kept coming over hoping to steal my laptop because they were convinced I had Taylor's album before everyone else."

"But, you did."

"That's beside the point!"

Kennedy pouted, "I promise I won't tell anyone! I promise!"

Reagan hesitated, even though her sister was only sixteen, she felt she was her only true friend. They had always been that way, unaware of the age difference. The only time really she would worry about her sister's maturity level was when Reagan would share details about her work. Even that was because well, Reagan did work with some high profile people, and she could understand why Kennedy felt the need to tell her friends, but even then she knew that she could lose her job because of it. Ultimately this was the main reason why her father had stopped talking to them about his job at all. Kennedy always wanted to show how cool and amazing her father and sister were, but it only backfired. Reagan would have loved holding it against her, but ultimately she couldn't.

"Tell you what, if I get to keep my job, I'll tell you when their album is about to come out."

"When is that?"

"Well if I told you, you'd be able to figure it out," Reagan said with a smirk.

"Wait...what do you mean if you get to keep your job?"

Reagan thought back to that afternoon and all she could keep seeing was Harry's maniacal face as they were running down the crowded streets of LA. He was fucking trouble, and she knew it. It would be a miracle if she got to keep her job.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm just an intern. I really don't understand how I even got the job in the first place."

Kennedy laid on her back and stared at the ceiling, "You think dad had anything to do with it?"

Of all the things Reagan had thought the moment she had gotten told by Lydia that she was now One Direction's campaign manager, she didn't think that it had anything to do with her father. But now that Kennedy had planted that seed, it would inevitably begin to grow.

Reagan and Kennedy's father had been in the business for as long as they could remember, and the day Reagan decided she wanted to follow in his footsteps he was more than happy to oblige. It went from having Reagan bring him lunch at the office, to having her spend a whole day shadowing him, and finally when she had proved her worth, the internship at his label. Her father was big enough to have pulled some strings, but she didn't want that to be the case. She had told him time and time again that she wanted to find her own place in the world, just as he had.

"I don't know." Reagan finally muttered, "It does seem too good to be true, doesn't it?"

She couldn't help but think that most everything in her life at that moment was far too good to be true. Or bad. It was something, anything other than true, she knew that.

"You know you're good Reagan. You're the fucking best." Her little sister said turning over on her stomach and wrapping her own small hand around Reagan's.

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Nice try. I'm still not telling you."

"Damn it," Kennedy said, dropping Reagan's hand.

"You don't even like that band, so does it matter. They're not even that famous." Reagan lied, trying to get her sister to forget about the whole thing.

"I don't?"

She actually did. Kennedy actually really loved One Direction, and Reagan knew that. That's why she had to keep it under wraps for now. When the time was right she would try to convince Lydia to let Kennedy meet them, or whatever. But for now, she just couldn't tell her.

"Nah."

"Oh, okay." Kennedy said with a smile, getting up from the bed, "Get some sleep, you look wrecked." She paused as she turned to leave and looked at Reagan laying there on her stomach. The first thing that caught Kennedy's eyes was the bright pink band-aids, "Nice. Hello Kitty?"

"They were the only ones they had at the office," Reagan said with a huff.

"Sure. Next time, don't wear heels."

"Don't worry, I learned my lesson."

And with that Kennedy exited Reagan's room and left her alone with her thoughts. That is, until the phone rang.

Reagan cursed at herself for having left it upon her drawer, now causing her to get up and see who it was that was calling her so late.

She looked at the lit-up screen, a flurry of unknown numbers, she knew it could be from work so she answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Rae." said a deep, raspy voice.

Her stomach flipped, and she asked a question she already knew the answer to, "Who is this?"

He chuckled, cockily, she noted, and finally answered, "The hipster-looking twig."


	7. Chapter 7

Reagan would be lying if she said she didn't feel her pulse race when she realized it was Harry calling. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel the least bit flattered that he went to the trouble of looking for her number when she had obviously never given it to him. And she would definitely be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit interested in finding out what it all meant, but alas, Reagan was never the type to like the truth.

"How did you get my number." She said coldly.

"Rae, you're our campaign manager."

"I never gave you my number."

"I know, that's why I asked Lydia to provide all of us with your information."

"What!?" What information!?" She practically screamed into the phone.

"Well, Miss Reagan Amelia Bailey..." Reagan shuddered, but he continued nonetheless, "We do need to look at your resume."

"WHAT!?"

"You don't live far from me, you know, we should carpool!" He said enthusiastically.

"I'm hanging up." She muttered.

"No! Wait!" He said, and for some reason, she listened.

"What?"

"How has your night been?"

"I just dropped you off an hour ago. What do you think could possibly have happened to me in the span of an hour?"

He chuckled, "I don't know. Sometimes things happen in a split second, don't they?"

"Whatever."

He stayed quiet, almost as if realizing that he had bothered her. But Harry wasn't that considerate, just because he realized it didn't mean he'd do anything about it.

"So, at eight?"

"What?"

"Am I picking you up at eight?"

"For what?"

He smiled, "Reagan, come on, get with the program. Carpool, remember?"

"I am NOT carpooling with you."

"Then are you coming round mine to pick me up?"

She rolled her eyes but suddenly thought, "Sure. Yeah, I will pick you up."

"At eight?"

"On the dot." She said with a devious smile.

Harry didn't think it would be that easy, but then again, he was always being proved wrong. But there was just something, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on though that was really bothering him about this whole thing. Sure, Reagan could totally relent and give in to driving with him to work, but pigs could also fucking fly.

"Okay." He said cheerily, "Goodnight, Rae."

"Night, Harry."

She put down her phone and laid back upon her bed, too tired to take off her work clothes, but not tired enough to not care about it. Harry was in the same boat, still had his leather boots on as he laid back upon his couch. He didn't feel like sleeping on his bed, again, and preferred the plush couch he had just gotten a few months back. He turned on his TV and slowly started drifting in and out of consciousness, all the while holding in his large hands the file marked Reagan Bailey that had been left in his mailbox earlier that evening by Lydia.

—✴—

Reagan awoke to feel rather pleased with herself. She wasn't actually going to pick up Harry, she knew what it would mean if people saw her driving him to work. Her stomach was in knots just thinking about it. Besides, she knew that Harry was a big boy. If she wasn't there by eight on the dot, he would figure it out and drive himself. It really was not that terrible, at least, she tried to convince herself that it wasn't.

She threw on her favorite outfit, the black pencil skirt with the floral blouse and the cute flats, and ran a hand through her hair while standing in front of the mirror. Before she got too caught up with her reflection, she busied herself applying her makeup and finally grabbed her purse to go out the door. The morning was humid, as expected, but it didn't bother her. In fact, she simply put on her sunglasses and smiled whilst she opened the door to her car and turned on the air condition. She looked at the clock and smiled when she saw 7:45 reflected upon it. It was still early, but she chose to be on her way.

The gates to her home opened wide, and she drove without much paying much attention because she had done it so many times in the past few years. Besides, she wasn't sure if she had grabbed her ID and needed to make sure it was in her large tote. As she managed the steering wheel with one hand and sifted through her bag with the other, she had yet to notice there was a car parked behind the gate at the end of her driveway.

As Reagan continued to sift through her bag the car began to drive forward and parked directly in the middle of the end of the driveway, blocking Reagan's exit. Yet, she continued at the same speed, not noticing the Range Rover blocking her way.

When she finally managed to get her hands on her ID it was only a few feet before the end of the driveway and she screamed an ear-piercing scream jamming her breaks and hoping that she wouldn't crash. Her car stopped mere inches away from the ostentatious SUV and her blood boiled so much that she jumped out of her car, shaking knees and all, only to yell at the idiot driver who thought her driveway was a parking space.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" She yelled going around the car, knocking on all its shiny windows until she reached the driver's side. All the windows were tinted and it wasn't until the window rolled down that she saw a smirking face.

"With me? Rae! I came to pick you up!" Harry side laughingly.

"Didn't we agree that I would pick you up!?" She screamed.

"Rae, we both know you weren't going to pick me up." He said in a suddenly serious tone of voice.

"What!?"

"My house is twenty minutes away from you. You, according to Lydia, are always in the office ten minutes before you're supposed to be there. So, it's approximately 7:47, and it's only a fifteen-minute drive to the office right?" He didn't even wait for her answer, he just continued, "Obviously you were going straight to the office, ditching me in the process."

Reagan's mouth is open and she's well aware of it, but she can't do anything about it. She tries to speak, "I...I-"

"I've been ditched before, Rae. You aren't the first, won't be the last." He smiled endearingly at her, almost making her feel a twinge of guilt because, God, there was hurt in his eyes but his smile attempted to hide it, "Now." He said putting his sunglasses on, "Park your car, and get your stuff."

"What?"

"We're going to be late if you don't get with the program, Rae. I may forgive you for attempting to ditch me, but I won't forgive you for tarnishing my impeccable attendance." He smiled.

"I thought it was pretty clear I didn't want to go to work with you."

"Crystal." He said, not moving an inch.

"Then?"

"Well, either you get in this car or no one is going to work today."

"Are you serious?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and staring at him with a fury so strong she felt as if she could set him on fire.

"Love, I've never been more serious." He said, tipping his face slightly so she could see his mossy eyes lock onto hers.

"Fucking shit, I hate you." She muttered, walking away with great disdain.

She got back into her car and started hitting the steering wheel, Harry watched with a smirk upon his face. He didn't even mind that she had tried to ditch him, not as much as he thought he would. He knew she was just trying to do her job, and that he was a dick for messing that up for her, but he just couldn't help it. She looked incredibly hot when she was angry, her eyes turned this shade of green that he'd never before seen on anyone, and her nose scrunched and her hands clenched in a fist, and 'Good God' he thought, 'This girl is gorgeous' as he watched her go in reverse back into her garage and in a rage slammed her doors and walked towards him.

"Drive." She ordered.

And he simply twisted his mouth into that cheeky half-grin of his, "Your wish is my command."


	8. Chapter 8

Harry had been through it all, really. The gossip, the lies, the rumors, the annoyances, each and every situation you could possibly imagine. Thus, when he walked into the office with Reagan behind him, he didn't really notice the stares and hushed whispers. Or rather, he did, but he didn't really care. He learned very quickly that in this business, you really did need to ignore all the bullshit. Sure, he wore his heart on his sleeve, but he also tried not to let other people see what really laid within it. He had to become unattached and unemotional on the surface, but in some aspects, he also had to be that within. So he chose his battles. This one, in particular, would be a prime example of Harry becoming emotionally detached, or just plainly not giving a fuck.

Reagan on the other hand was having a tougher time, and her thoughts that she thought were long gone came roaring back. That voice in her head was on full blast, 'They're staring at you because they know you don't stand a chance with him.' and 'Really? Did you choose to wear that today? You look fat and you know it, stop trying to convince yourself otherwise.' She cursed at herself for allowing Harry to drive her to work. She knew it was a bad idea, she really did, and the stares and endless glares did nothing but prove that it was.

"Rae." He mumbled as she walked two steps behind him.

"What?"

"You can walk next to me you know."

She fell back, even more, five steps behind him at that point. He sighed and reached back, pulling her toward him. She heard someone gasp behind them, but she didn't pay any mind to it because she was so close, so fucking close to him. She twisted her arm, but complied and walked in stride with him down the hallway to the studio.

She simply muttered, "Please, don't get me fired."

"You know damn well that isn't my intention." He retorted, his English accent tinged with a bit of anger.

"Well if I didn't know any better I would say it was."

He turned around to face her, "Really?"

"You think this is okay? You and me walking in together to work, the day after I get promoted!? What are people going to say!" She said in a hushed whisper.

"Fuck what people say, damn it!" He looked at her with an intensity she didn't believe he could ever possess, "You can't live your life worried about what people say, Rae. So what if we hang out? You didn't get your job because you know me, you got it because you're bloody good at it!"

"But how will people know that!? They won't care enough to see past the fact that I'm seen with you!"

"So what!?"

"What do you mean so what!? So I never get to be more than the girl who got her job because of Harry Styles!?"

"Why do you care!? You know who you are don't you? Why does it matter what other people say, or think, or do Reagan?"

She simply stared at him, but managed to say, "How did you get over it?"

"Over what?"

"Over people talking about you constantly...you know?"

He shrugged, "I stopped giving a shit."

"But how?"

He looked up at her, "One day you realize that it doesn't matter what other people think, you know? Only what you think about yourself."

She sighed, leaning against a wall, "I don't know how to do that."

He leaned next to her, shoulders touching shoulders, "You'll get it."

She smiled, "You say that like you'll be dragging me around with you."

He smirked, "You act like I won't be." He nudged her with his broad shoulder and she couldn't help but roll her eyes and nudge him back with a begrudged smile.

"Hey-" The door swung open and before them stood a confused Louis, "Oh. Hi. We were wondering where you were."

"Hey, mate." Harry said, pushing off the wall and walking towards Louis, "Just having a chat with our campaign manager is all."

Louis nodded, "Morning, Reagan."

"Good morning." She said with a smile, promptly walking into the room and leaving the two bandmates by themselves.

Harry sighed, knowing that Louis was going to give him his two cents about what he had just seen, and Harry would have to go to the trouble of explaining that it was 'Nothing, really, Lou, it was nothing.'

"Haz." Louis started

"I know," Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

"Really," Louis said crossing his arms, "What do you know? Indulge me."

"Look, I just drove her to work, that's all."

"Why would you drive her to work?"

He didn't want to say that he had been sitting outside her house for two hours simply to make sure she wouldn't leave, because clearly he'd sound like a lunatic, so instead he simply said, "We're carpooling."

Louis made a funny sound, but looked at Harry's face and realized he was actually serious, "Really? Harry, you know what happens when you're linked to girls."

"So? Maybe I don't care this time."

"Yeah," Louis said with a nod, "But does she?"

So she wasn't the thinnest, or the most well put together, or the most famous. So what? Harry could give two fucks about that. But Louis was right, what would inevitably happen would be millions of girls coming after Reagan, because of her looks, because of the way she acts, because of the company she keeps. Could he really put her through all that?

"She's a big girl," Harry said, knowing she could handle it....eventually.

"Well, I know that," Louis said with a smirk.

Harry's fist collided with Louis' arm, hard. Louis yelled, "What the fuck! Have you gone mad!?"

"Don't say shit like that then," Harry said, about as livid as he could get.

"Fuck." Louis said rubbing his arm, "You fancy this one, don't you."

Harry shook his head, "I just don't like it when people say stuff like that, you know that."

"This isn't because you're overly sensitive, it's because you're into her."

"Whatever," Harry said, shrugging it off. He had only known her for a day, one day. You don't fancy someone after one day. It takes a lot of days, a lot of months even. He knew that. But he knew that he had a soft spot for her, and yeah she was gorgeous, she was, but he knew better than to say he fancied her right off the bat when he thought she clearly didn't feel the same way.

"I'd advise you to bulk up." Louis murmured walking past Harry, "Don't want her to flatten you, do we?"

Harry looked at him angrily and stuck out his foot, causing Louis to trip. Luckily, he caught himself on the door to the studio. Louis simply laughed, "See if you can't deal with quips like that, how will she?" He opened the door to the studio, leaving Harry in the hallway with his thoughts.

"Hey." Reagan said, opening the door and smirking at him only a few seconds after Louis went in, "I can hear you thinking from 50 feet away. You ever coming in?"

He nodded, "Was just about to."

She furrowed her brow, "What's wrong with you?"

He smirked, "Oh, you care now?"

"Well if it's going to affect you in the studio, then that kind of affects my job...which really affects me."

"Ah, so I'm having an effect on you?" He said coyly, a cheeky smile playing upon his lips.

She slapped his shoulder, "Get in the studio. I'd like to get something done today."

"Hey now, you're in charge of PR, nothing else."

"What the hell am I going to promote if you don't make an album smart ass?"

"Touche." He chuckled, stepping towards the door. Reagan held back though, her mouth in a straight line. He looked at her and his smiled faded, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing...I...I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

"You know, if you take off your shoes and I walk in about five minutes later we can recreate yesterday."

"I'd really rather not."

"Okay, well..." He said going into the room, "Don't take too long."

"I won't."

She watched as he closed the door and took a long and deep breath against the wall Harry had moments before leaned upon. She didn't think the doors to the studio were that thin, but then again, she was standing right next to the door. The rest of the boys were already deep within the depths of the box, starting to practice their pitch and their notes, and she couldn't help but listen to what Louis and Harry were saying. As soon as Louis had opened the door to the studio and saw Reagan in the doorway, his face flushed, hoping that she hadn't heard what he had said about her.

She was used to it though. Reagan didn't really care what Louis thought, it was business, nothing else. He didn't have to find her attractive in any way or sort, as long as they could be civil to each other within the constraints of the office, she really just didn't care. But what Harry had said, she didn't know what to make of it and she didn't know why it bothered her so much. Sure, he defended her and it seemed like he thought about sticking around here for a while, but what did it mean?

Harry opened the door, disrupting her train of thought, tiptoeing out backward out the door and into the hallway.

She got up off the wall and crossed her arms before him, "What were you really going to go to the bathroom to look for me?"

"Fuck!" He yelped, turning around and facing her. But quickly he recovered from the scare and laughingly said, "Just wanted to make sure you went to the right one this time."

Yeah, she definitely didn't know what to make of this famously weird and endearing boy.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry had begun to lose track of the days, they seemed to pass tediously, almost as if they didn't want to pass at all. Yet it had only been five days since Reagan had arrived and about three since they had begun seriously working on their album. But that's how it had always been, he knew that. He knew that it would be like this for a while, that they needed to be locked into the studio in order to produce the work everyone doubted they were capable of. And while they were resentful of it on beautiful days like today, in November, when the album is released, they'd think differently about it.

He sat outside the recording box, next to their producer, and watched with a pained face as Niall was attempting his part in his new song. Everyone else though was off doing their own thing, Liam and Louis busily writing and Reagan with her laptop monitoring the boys' social media accounts. She had convinced Lydia to allow the boys to have their respective twitters back, full access no more of that checking what they decide to post before they posted it. Of course, they had rules, but they were just happy to have the power to post whenever they wanted and whatever they wanted. The novelty wore off about the second day though, when Reagan reminded them that even though they got to post whatever they wanted again, they also needed to start promoting the album.

Social media privileges just weren't enough to keep them happy though, the boys were becoming antsy as the day progressed, and even more so after they began rehearsing Harry's newly written song. As much as they loved their bandmate, they hated the way he acted with his songs. He was very possessive of the idea of them, as in, he needed them to be reproduced in the exact way he imagined them. There was no room for error with him.

See, the thing is that artists are very particular, they have visions when they are creating something and when those visions aren't able to come to life because of something that is out of their control it becomes an incredibly frustrating process. The boys were no exception to this. After going through one of the first songs that Liam and Louis had penned, Harry decided to bring out his own piece. Now, Liam and Louis' songs don't usually cause many problems, not really. It was Harry's that were problematic, simply because he was so illusioned with each and every work he had written, and god, you couldn't really blame him. He had a few songs in the works, one completed, one he started the night that he and Reagan had met. He wasn't far along enough on the latter, so he brought the completed one hoping to see it really come together.

"That was...okay," Harry said with a nod, pressing a button so that Niall could hear him within the tiny room.

Niall simply furrowed his brow, "Just say it."

"Say what?"

"Don't even start with that shit, say what you mean."

"What?" Harry said innocently.

"Was it flat? Did I not hit the right note?"

The problem though was that Harry was far too kind to criticize the boys when they did anything wrong or not really the way he imagined them. Sometimes not going according to the rigid plan in his head has paid off, sometimes in fact, the song is recorded completely with a different rhythm or note because it sounded so much better than what Harry could have ever imagined. But this song, he had plans for this song, and Niall was killing them softly with his notes.

"I just..."

"You just?"

"When I wrote it..."

"Here we go!" Niall said throwing his arms up and throwing the stack of sheet paper at Harry. It hit the glass and fell onto the floor. Niall threw his headset as well, stomping out of the recording area simply to stand before Harry angrily.

"You asked me to say what I meant!" Harry said helplessly.

Reagan, hearing the argument from a few feet away, turned from her conversation with Liam and walked over to the two, "What now?" She said in a voice that only shone very little patience and a lot of frustration.

This was the third time in a week that the boys found themselves at odds, and Reagan was getting sick of it. Her job was to promote, not to separate children when they were getting pouty. 

"This idiot right here," Niall said, dramatically pointing at Harry, "Won't let me fucking sing."

Reagan stood next to Niall, trying to calm him, "Niall, come on, he doesn't-"

"You sang," Harry said, getting up from his seat, towering over his bandmate, "Just not correctly."

Niall stepped towards Harry with the intent of swinging, but Louis grabbed his arm just in time and said, "Now, now. We both know Harry's an ass, Niall. What will hitting him do?"

Niall looked at Harry angrily, "If I knock him out maybe he'll stop talking for a few hours."

"Just take it easy, mate," Liam said looking at them worriedly.

Reagan shook her head and looked at her wristwatch, sighing at the time, "Maybe we should call it a day."

"We're not done recording..." Harry said looking at their producer, Julian, and then at Niall. Niall looked away sharply and Harry sighed.

"We have a lot of writing to do too," Louis said with a shrug.

"Do you at least want to take a break?" Reagan asked.

The boys looked at each other and nodded, deciding that they couldn't take much more of each other in that cramped space. Yet as soon as Niall went to open the door, Paul was in his face, "What's all this then? I leave for an hour and you all have decided to call it quits?"

Niall huffed pushing past him, "We're taking a break."

Paul sensed the tension in the room and looked at Reagan, she blushed furiously and nodded at him, almost telepathically telling him to let it go for today. Paul sighed loudly, defeatedly saying, "You have fifteen minutes. Then back to work, you hear?"

No one dared go after Niall, knowing that after he had a few minutes he would be fine. They all conveniently left the room though, in separate directions of course, with the exception of Reagan and Harry. Harry simply looked at Reagan, nothing really going through his head. All he heard was the song that would never really come to life, and it frustrated the fuck out of him.

"They're only human, Harry," Reagan said leaning against Louis' table.

"I know, I just...you know...you have a vision sometimes and you just want it to happen."

"Yeah, but you guys are a team. If this keeps happening, well, I don't know. I don't think you'll be much of a team."

He nodded, "I know. I know that there are always limitations to what we have to do, but..."

"You can't change their voices, and you can't change who they are. Niall maybe didn't go about it the right way, but he's pissed that you can't seem to understand that."

Harry sighed loudly, "I'm a bloody idiot."

Reagan smiled, "Come on now, I know artists are weird, I'm sure the other guys feel the same way when they write something too."

"Yeah, but I'm the only one who's a dick about it."

"So? You're passionate."

He laughed, "Oh, so it's okay because I'm passionate about it. I don't think they'll agree." Harry nodded to the door.

Reagan shrugged, "They know you don't really mean it."

"Niall would say otherwise."

"This is like the fifth time we've had to keep him from punching someone, to be honest, I think he just has a bad temper, it's not all your fault. Just, you know, try to understand him too."

"Yeah."

"You've all been in a mood all week so, I think the weekend will do you all good."

"Thank God it's Friday, huh?"

"Thank God we have tomorrow off for once," Reagan said with a smile.

"Speaking of, I was thinking..." Harry muttered in a voice so close to a whisper, that Reagan almost didn't hear him.

"Yeah?"

"You want to do something tomorrow?"

"Like?"

"I don't know, we could figure something out."

Reagan hesitated, "Like hang out, like friends?" She said emphasizing the word 'friends'.

"Yeah."

"But we're not." She said so frankly Harry felt as if the wind was knocked out of him.

"Fuck, Rae. Way to beat a guy when he's down."

She shrugged again, "My day off is supposed to be my day off from you."

"Fine. I get it." Harry pouted.

Reagan felt that same twinge of guilt she had felt when she had seen Harry's eyes after she had tried ditching him, and she knew she would inevitably have to spend the rare day off with him, "Where are we meeting." She said without looking at him.

"I'll call you in the morning."

Harry had barely finished his sentence when Niall opened the door and walked in with a bottle of water in his hand. He plopped down on the couch before them and refused to make eye contact with Harry as he said, "Sorry for being a prick, mate."

Harry smiled, "It's okay. I was a bigger one."

"Truce?" Niall said, finally meeting his eyes.

"Truce, mate."

And suddenly, everything in the world seemed just right. Just right.


	10. Chapter 10

Reagan woke up feeling at peace, her body and mind already knew that it was her day off. There was no frantic need to throw on clothes and run out of the house, there was nothing menacingly looming over her head. Those first few moments where she woke up and realized it was Saturday and she actually had a day off, she felt more at peace than she had in months. The birds chirped outside her window, and she stretched satisfyingly in her comfortable bed. She just felt so good, there was even a smile upon her face, that is until she checked her phone.

(4) Messages from Harry Styles

"What?" she said out loud. Her heart quickly started beating and she felt the room closing in around her. She didn't want to be that girl, the one that got dragged into all of that celebrity gossip and drama. This was not her life. She was supposed to be invisible, she was supposed to be under the radar, that was her thing. She just knew that this was not right, that this was not her fucking phone, that this was not her. She was still asleep, she was stuck in a dream that could be the plot of one of those horridly cliched fan fictions that Kennedy read day and night. She just had to be, she could find no other logical explanation for what she found before her, but her phone went off again and she knew she wasn't dreaming, this was very much real and very much her life.

"Fuck." She muttered as she went through her messages.

9:09 AM: Good Morning Rae!

9:15 AM: You're still not up?

9:17 AM: Wake up Rae!

9:18 AM: Come on Rae get a move on then!

She reread every message and still reread them again. She just couldn't understand what Harry Styles could possibly want with her. Yeah, she was his campaign manager, but that didn't really mean anything. There was no pretense for them to be hanging out outside of work, none at all. So why was he so fucking insistent? Could it be that he liked her?

She physically shook her head, roughly, hoping it would knock that nonsensical thought right out of her brain. How could he like her? She was a fat, weird, nobody. She was lucky if somebody even acknowledged her existence, she was practically invisible. Then again, it was better than being seen and being laughed at. She was nothing like Harry, he was and always would be out of reach for her. She couldn't ever imagine him lowering himself to her level.

After a few minutes of debating what to respond to, she figured that the most professional response would be a simple 'good morning' and went on her way to take a shower. When she got back into her room she chose a simple floral dress and a jean jacket. She looked at the tags and flinched a bit as she saw a bolded '16' on her dress and a thoroughly outlined '2X' on her jacket. She ripped the tags off and got dressed.' They were new clothes, they should have made her felt better, not worse. But, again, Reagan was no ordinary girl. As much of a confidence boost as the beautiful dress might have been, she would always remember the white tag with the pronounced size.

She ran a hand through her hair and thought about not dying it for a while, that may be the peroxide she used to make herself blonde was making her lose her mind because there was no way anything would ever happen between her and Harry. He was famous, the fucking talk of the town. Voted one of the hottest men on the Earth, always kind to everyone, and even though sometimes he was a little weird, everyone could forgive him because he was Harry fucking Styles. She looked at herself head-on in the mirror, her brow furrowed and a scowl prominent upon her glossy lips. Her hand darted for a hairbrush, but the jacket she was wearing didn't really give, her arm stiff and inflexible. She sighed in frustration as she tried to stretch out the jacket a bit, to no avail.

"Fuck it then," She said angrily.

Her phone rang at that precise moment and she jumped. She swore again and picked up the phone angrily, about to say something but Harry beat her to it.

"Have you finally woken up?" He asked, his voice raspier than usual.

"We don't all wake up at six in the morning to be one with nature."

"I don't wake up at six."

"I didn't really ask."

He chuckled, "You know, you're cute when you're mean."

She blushed, "Fuck off."

He laughed again, "Not much of a morning person?"

"Not on days I'm supposed to have off."

"Ah, but how would you enjoy your day off if you were sleeping?"

"Well, I wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"Are you saying you sleep to avoid me?"

"I'm saying I'd really do anything other than talking to you."

Harry smirked, disregarding her completely, "So, are we meeting up, then?"

She sighed, but the smile on her face was evident, "What are we doing?'

"Haven't really decided..."

"Then I can't really agree to go." She replied.

"Reagan." He said in a stern tone of voice, "You can't back out."

"And why is that?"

"I'm in front of your house."

She could practically hear the smirk upon his lips and stopped herself from throwing her phone across the room, "Excuse me?"

"Get moving, pretty girl. We're going out."

"No."

"Would you like me to go up to your doorstep then? Ring the bell?"

She winced, only thinking of Kennedy freaking out, and her parents' disbelief, "No."

"Then you don't have much of a choice do you?"

"I'll be out in ten."

"Make it five." He paused, and she was about to hang up the phone when he yelled, "Wait!"

"What?"

"Bring me a banana."

"What!?"

"Bring me a banana, I need some potassium."

"Are you shitting me?"

"Reagan, I never joke about potassium."

He hung up, leaving Reagan wanting to scream at the world in both anger and confusion. But instead, she grabbed her purse, tiptoed out of her room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. The first thing she saw in the fruit bowl were the bananas, so she grabbed two, slipped them in her bag, and kept walking.

She opened the front door, sighed loudly, and walked out. As soon as she reached the gate, she hesitated. Should she really be doing this? Of course, she could say no to him. There was absolutely no reason she had to go with him, none at all. So why was she? Why today? Why the first day they met for that matter? Why was there this unspeakable pull towards him, why was he like a fucking tornado, sucking her into his life from the moment they met? All she could think was how all tornadoes did was leave destruction in their wake and all that could come from this relationship—if you could even call it that—would be trouble. She didn't want trouble, didn't take well to it. So why was every nerve in her body screaming for her to open that gate?

"This isn't going to end well." She mumbled to herself as she pressed the button and the gate opened with a huge screech revealing Harry's Land Rover with the tinted windows and curly-haired boy behind the wheel. He had his windows rolled down and when he saw her he smiled something fierce. An expression she had only seen given to other people, an expression she only saw in those cheesy romantic comedies where you know it's obvious who the protagonists are and that they're going to end up together but not after a series of comedic and ultimately frustrating events. She never thought she'd see that look on someone's face for her.

"Get that stupid grin off your face." She said, hiding her own smile.

She went to pull the handle of the car but it was locked, she looked up at Harry and he extended his hand, "Banana." he commanded.

"You're charging me to get into your car?"

He still had his hand extended, his expression unchanged.

"What if I didn't have any bananas? Would you really not let me into your car?" She asked going into her bag and coming back out with one for him and one for her.

He unlocked the door, and as she got in and settled down, and leaned over and attempted to take both fruits out of her hands. She slapped his hand roughly, "One is for you. One."

"What!? But I always eat two." He pouted.

She shrugged, "You said bring me a banana, not bring me bananas. This one is mine." She said lifting up hers, "And this one is yours." She threw the other at him and he smiled nonetheless, happily looking at its yellow peel and kind of looking at her disbelief.

"Didn't think you'd actually even bring me one."

"Why?"

"Well, you kind of hate me."

"Kind of?" She said sarcastically.

"Hey now, if you actually hated me you wouldn't be here right now."

"Debatable."

"Oh yeah?"

"I'm here because I don't want to lose my job," Reagan said, playing with the fruit in her hand.

"See now, I'd say I believe you, but I really don't."

"Uhuh."

"No, really, that's a shit lie and you know it." He leaned over and she could smell his cologne, he was so close, so incredibly close to her again and she felt like jumping out of that car at once.

"I'm not lying."

"Well, that's okay." He said, his stare so intent that she felt as if he was willing her to look at him, and she actually turned and faced him head-on. His eyes were so green that she had no words to really describe them, she was lost in the moment, feeling something come over her, "Really, it's okay." He said, his hands reaching over and brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face, ever so gently, "Because you know, hate is a really passionate emotion, Rae. It just means you're passionate about me."

"Not in a good way." She responded shakily, trying to lean back further away from him, but she was already up against the door.

He smirked, but god, the way he twisted his lips into this cheeky half-grin, half snide sarcastic smile, made her heart race so fast that Reagan thought she was going to die right there.

"I'll take what I can get." He murmured in a low voice.

He looked her up and down once more, before going back to his seat and peeling his banana open. And just like that, woosh, the moment was over. But Reagan was far from okay. She sat in her seat, eyes wide open, still trying to process what had happened while Harry was trying not to choke on his banana from holding back his laughter. He loved the effect he had on her, absolutely relished it.

"Can we go?" Reagan said impatiently.

Harry finished his banana, placed the peel in a baggy he conveniently had, and faced her, "Love, we can go anytime you like, all you have to say is please."

"Please can we go?"

And then her brow furrowed because she realized he had just called her 'love'. But then she thought it was just a British thing, that was what they did. It couldn't mean anything else...

"That's better, much better." He said, wrapping his large hand around the stick shift and pulling out onto the main street.

She didn't dare look at him, too much was happening for her to process at once. She didn't like it, not at all. But then, she also didn't want the feeling to never end.

"Ready for the best day you've ever had?"

"Wow does that sound hyperbolic."

"I'm not exaggerating."

"You better pull through on your promise then." She muttered.

As he reached the red light he turned to look at her for a split second, "Oh, I always do."

And the tone of his voice had her reeling, she was intoxicated. She should never have left her house, she should never have taken this job. She should never have let Harry Styles come into her life the way she did. But he did, and god, now she didn't want him to leave.


	11. Chapter 11

It had started when he was sixteen when he was still baby faced and cherub cheeked and girls loved him. Not just girls, women, moms, grandmas, aunts, they were all crazy about him. Harry had just become a celebrity, he was coming up in the world, and of course, at sixteen he didn't mind the attention. Not at sixteen, not at seventeen, or eighteen, or nineteen even. He loved girls, he just loved them. Now don't get him wrong, it was just that there was nothing like that soft touch or that fragrant skin or that delicate giggle. At his age, it was only natural. But people didn't see it that way. Harry was, and probably forever will be, the womanizer of the band. The only thing that could be said is that labels really do stick.

Harry though, does not understand why he holds such a grand power over women. He does not understand what makes him this large enigma that has supposedly taken over the world. He used to think that he deserved, that he should just live his life without questioning it, but now he's come into a phase where he can't help but wonder why him, what makes him so special? And he ponders it for days, thinks that perhaps it's his voice, raspy but smooth, or perhaps it's his brown curls disheveled across his chiseled face or his mossy eyes that change color with his mood. Maybe even his witty comments—yes, really—or the way he spoke in a slow drawn out British drawl—he's heard accents are rather sexy. But it had always been this way, he had always gotten the girl yet felt impossibly lonely after realizing he was only sought after because of his fame, because of his looks, because it was him. He just felt that he was more than his name, he was a person after all, not just a product, not just a womanizer. It took him a few years to realize that, and even though he hasn't gotten it all figured out yet, it's okay. He's okay. Reagan doesn't have it all figured out either, and really, that's what he liked about her.

He watched as she held the banana in her grasp and wondered why she hadn't eaten yet. He thought that maybe she was just too shy to eat in front of him and that now that he had thought about it, she never had eaten in front of any of them. Whenever food was delivered to the studio she would be the first to say she needed to go to the bathroom and wouldn't come back until they were done. Suddenly, he felt a tinge of worry for her and wanted her to eat the banana. Not for him, but for herself. He didn't want her to feel so bad about herself that she couldn't eat a fucking piece of fruit in front of someone.

"Hey." He said, staring straight ahead at the traffic before them.

"What's up?"

"You gonna eat that?"

She looked down at the banana on her lap and then at him, "Seriously? I said I would."

"Well, you're not."

"But I will."

"How about you eat it now?"

"Why?"

"Because you probably haven't eaten."

"So?"

"We have a long day before us, Rae, you should eat."

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she continued fumbling with it, and he sighed, "If you don't want it, I'll just have to eat it."

Her face fell a bit, not because he said that but because she really didn't want to eat it in front of him. But then, she didn't understand why she cared so much either, he was just a stupid guy who shouldn't be the reason why she was starving herself, but she was.

It didn't start out that way, she wasn't always like this. It was just that Harry had made her so nervous that she couldn't really eat anything around him. It started that first day they were in the studio and Niall made them order pizza, she felt the other boys just gawk at her, waiting for her to eat. She couldn't do it, she just couldn't. She had felt like a zoo animal enough times in her life and she just didn't want to do it anymore. She excused herself and went to the bathroom, convincing herself not to cry, that she was being stupid, but self doubt is a hell of a feeling.

It wasn't even about her weight, she really didn't even think about her weight that day, she really didn't. She just had so many bad associations with food, that she felt like one of Pavlov's dogs. Every time someone said, "Food's ready!" She got a panic attack and broke out in hives. She was conditioned by everyone around her to look at food as the enemy, that eating was a shameful thing she couldn't do in public. So of course, when it came to eating front of Harry Styles, she just couldn't do it. He was a stubborn kid though and he wouldn't let it go without a fight.

"Rae, just eat it."

She picked it up and offered it to him, "You can have it if you want."

"I don't. What I want is for you to eat it."

She turned bright red and slowly started to peel it open. He didn't turn to face her, knowing that it would only make her stop what she was doing. She felt that anxiety hit her stomach though, and even though she hadn't thought about her weight that last time she had to eat in front of him, she was having one of her bad days today and that voice wouldn't stop screaming inside her head.

'You know how many calories are in that Reagan? The amount of sugar? As if you didn't have enough fat in your body.'

She couldn't do it though, she just held that banana in front of her, peeled only a little bit of the way, trying to convince herself to at least take one bite. She didn't even feel when Harry parked the car she was so into her thoughts.

But he did, and he turned it off and he unbuckled his seat belt to face her, "Look, you don't have to eat it. I wouldn't make you, but I also don't want you to feel like you can't eat in front of me okay?"

"It's not that." She said defensively, turning in her seat to face him as well, "I just...um...I just remembered that I read somewhere that there are just a bunch of parasites in the tips of bananas and it really didn't make this seem too appetizing now." She said looking down at the fruit in question.

He took it from her, took a generous bite, and handed it back to Reagan. She looked at his hand in disbelief, "Uh, you really don't expect me to eat that now do you?"

"No parasites now." He said with a semi-full mouth.

She grimaced, "No, just your stupid germs."

"I don't have stupid germs, they're quite charming, actually."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm really not eating that now."

"Rae, I don't have cooties or whatever the hell it is you call it," He shoved the banana back at her, "Eat it. I took care of the parasite situation."

"No you didn't, you're still here."

"Oh! Ouch! Reagan 23, Harry 0." He said with a laugh, "I get it, I'm a nuisance, now could you please just eat the bloody banana."

"Why do you worry about other people so much?"

He smiled, "It's who I am."

"Well, the intention is sweet, but I'm still not about to put your germs in my mouth."

"Would it really be that bad?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Yes."

He got closer to her, leaning over the stick shift and just inches away from her nose. His eyes turned a darker shade of green and her heart started doing that funny thing that he made it do and oh god, he was so close again that she just kind of forgot what breathing was.

"Reagan?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm about to kiss you." He said in a funny voice she'd never heard him use before, and she felt her entire body go on fire.

"What?" She tried saying it as an exclamatory remark, but it was barely above a whisper.

He leaned in closer, his lips almost brushing hers, so achingly close. He felt his pulse skyrocket and she couldn't seem to form words. All she could feel was that she was frozen solid, and she couldn't move at all. He stayed at that distance for what felt like an eternity, and finally, he chuckled nervously, "See, you wouldn't mind having my germs, nice try though."

She looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Eat your banana and quit it with the sarcastic remarks." He said with an even voice, even though on the inside he was shaking so badly he wasn't sure he could even drive.

Reagan simply turned away, no remarks at all, and peeled the banana and took a bite. That was all it took to silence the angry voices in her head and to give the podium to another.

'DID HE JUST TRY TO KISS YOU!? NO, IT WAS A JOKE RIGHT!? RIGHT!?'

And funnily enough, Harry made no further comment about her eating her fucking banana, he just put the car in drive again and kept imagining her face when he was less than inch away from it.

Neither of them knew what the hell was going on and the atmosphere was completely off whack now, but Reagan ate her banana and got the angry voices to shut up.

Reagan 23, Harry 1.


	12. Chapter 12

To say that Harry wasn't thinking about kissing Reagan would be completely incorrect. In fact, he was trying so hard not to think about kissing her that all of his brainpower was devoted solely to the cause, making his driving skills very poor. Reagan, who would usually be completely flipping out at Harry's lack of concern for the road, was actually sitting back in her seat, completely tense, a bit too shocked to say anything. Where there were once sarcastic remarks and witty quips, there was now silence. Awkward fucking silence. They just didn't know what to do with themselves and all that kept flashing through both their minds was that almost kiss that was a complete fluke.

Harry wanted to go in for the kiss, he really did. Oh god did he want to kiss Reagan. But he just couldn't do it, which was so unusual for his 'womanizing' self. It had been a while since he had actually been with a girl, like actually hung out with one on his own accord, not for publicity or because someone told him, just because he could. And it had been a while since he actually fancied a girl. Like actually, really just wanted to be with her all the fucking time. God, he was losing it for Reagan, and at that moment it ran through his head that he actually really did fancy her and he kind of smiled that dopey smile of his and turned to look at her. She felt his stare upon her and looked at him with this really weird expression, a cross between endearment and utter terror, and turned back to look blankly out the window.

He couldn't blame her for reacting that way, Reagan had never had this happen to her. It wasn't normal. Boys never did this with her. The few boys she had ever interacted with would never have fallen for her, they would never have treated her the way Harry did. In fact, no one had ever treated her the way Harry had. It was like he couldn't see her for what she really was. He saw her in this completely different light, and it scared her because she didn't know if he was projecting his idea of who she is onto her, or if he's just really seeing the person she actually is, no bullshit. Maybe it would help if Reagan actually knew who she was, but she didn't. She didn't think anyone really did know at their age, so she didn't get too hung up on it. She had bigger things to worry about.

"Um, so, where should we go first?" Harry asked nervously drumming his fingers upon the steering wheel.

"I don't, uh, I don't really care." She said, never looking at him.

"Look, did I take that joke too far?"

"What joke?"

"You know what joke, Rae."

She pretended to be above it, that it didn't mean anything to her, because it shouldn't. It was a joke, after all, he was openly admitting it. He would never kiss her, at least she didn't think so.

"Oh, the whole kissing thing?"

"Yeah."

"I know you didn't mean it, I mean why would you kiss me?"

Harry bit his lip, not wanting to say anything, he was really holding himself back but he couldn't help saying, "Why wouldn't I kiss you?"

She laughed nervously, "We already established that I don't want your germs."

"Yeah." He said, trying to laugh naturally but it sounded forced.

Harry was mad he had really fucked up what they had gone there. They had kind of established a natural flow and now Reagan didn't feel comfortable and he was second-guessing himself at every turn. He didn't understand what was happening, this was not him, not ever. He was always so confident, so sure of himself. So why did she make him into a mess?

"But, uh..." he started, not quite sure where he was going with his sentence. He felt Reagan's stare on him and he knew he had to make something up, "How do you feel about going to the beach again?"

"Louis' beach?"

"Yeah, basically."

"Uh, sure. It is nice out."

He nodded and began driving in the direction of Louis' Los Angeles beach home. The entire time Reagan nervously shifted in her seat, wondering what kind of conversation to make or what to say, but she couldn't think of anything. Everything felt too forced.

"So why does Louis let you onto his beach?" She tried.

"Oh, well, he lets all of us use it. The paps usually don't track us down there, and it's a pretty nice view."

"That's nice of him."

"Well, he's never home so he doesn't care."

"Do you guys just buy houses you never live in?"

"The first few years we were famous," Harry started relaxing a little at this point, "I refused to sleep in the house I bought. I just couldn't do it. It was too big for one person. So I decided to crash on anyone's couch that would let me, I just liked the feel of a house being a home, you know?"

She laughed, "No, I get it. I think it's cute, you didn't really know where you belonged.."

"Yeah, well, my friends didn't think it was cute."

"A famous pop star living on their couch when he had a perfectly good house he owned? Yeah, I don't think they quite understood it. The magazines loved that story though, I think Ed Sheeran was interviewed about it, right?"

He smiled, "Are you a fan of mine?"

She blushed, "No! My sister is," She said that too quickly and realized that Harry would totally not believe her now, but she continued anyway because it was actually the truth, "She loves One Direction, I get stuck having to deal with you guys at home and now at work."

Harry shrugged, "I don't think you'd mind dealing with me at home."

"What are you implying?"

He laughed it off, "Nothing. Anyway, the house thing I was talking about, I got used to it, you know?"

"Used to what?"

"My house not feeling like a home. I don't know, you go so long trying to find where you belong, and you realize it's not a material it place, you have to like find it within yourself."

"That's deep."

He turned to look at her for a split second, a frown upon his face, but continued nonetheless, "I just, I guess I haven't found it yet."

"My mom always said that your home is usually with the people you love." She said a softer side of herself that she never really expected to have with Harry, but she strangely felt herself opening up to him.

"Guess I just need to find that person here then." He didn't look at her because he knew, he knew, he would freak her out, so instead, he just kept driving and could literally hear Reagan's heartbeat pulsating abnormally loud after his comment. God, he just loved making her do that. It was a funny thing having that power over someone, and he realized he may be smirking about doing that to her, but she does it to him as well on a daily basis. She just doesn't know it.

"We're almost there aren't we?"

"You remember the way?" He asked, kind of impressed that she remembered after that only time they had been there.

"Photographic memory. I'm shit with maps, but I always know my way back somewhere."

"My own personal GPS."

"I don't know street names."

"That's okay we'll go by landmarks."

"I don't know my right from my left."

"Rubbish." He laughed.

"I'm serious, I almost flunked out of kindergarten because my teacher was so done with me."

"I don't believe you."

"Harry, I really can't lead you anywhere, we'll just get lost."

"Yeah, but we'll get lost together."

'Fuck.' He swore in his head, 'That was way too much. That wasn't even funny or witty, it was just lame.'

"Lame." She muttered, but she didn't dare look at him. She was still kind of fluttering from the fact he had said that.

"I know." He said shaking his head, "Sometimes I try too hard."

"Oh, I know."

"Good thing I don't have to try hard with you." He said, seeing a parking space and coming up by it.

"Are you implying I'm easy?"

"Easy to talk to, easy to get along with, easy to be with, yeah? Is that a bad thing?"

"Oh. No. I just..."

He parked and turned to face her once more, she was growing tired of the car, of the fact he could have her pressed up the door in an instant if he wanted to. And of course, he came closer to her, her back up against the handle of the car. She could barely breathe.

He finally said in his raspy voice, "Because I know you, you are not easy Reagan Bailey. You're a fucking challenge."

"Am I?"

"Yeah." He said smirking, "But lucky for you, I love a challenge."

And that was the exact moment she knew she was done for. She was a challenge Harry fucking Styles wanted to take. Why? Only he and God know, but she just couldn't understand how this crazy boy could possibly want anything to do with her.

"Reagan?"

"Yeah?"

He got closer to her, just like earlier and she found she had no space to resist, she panicked.

"I'm going to kiss you now." He said in a dreamy, but cheeky, voice.

"No! No, you're not!" She said covering her mouth.

He smiled so incredibly widely that she thought his dimples were going to take over his face, "See, how could I possibly resist a challenge like this?" He winked and pulled away from her, letting her finally breathe.

She was done for, she knew that now. She was fucking done for.


	13. Chapter 13

Reagan really had no idea how to feel. As she walked along the shore at mid-morning alongside Harry, she was more confused than she had ever been. It was like this, Reagan had never been in a relationship. It shouldn't come as a shock since she had spent her entire life avoiding them. She knew that because of her size, because of her below average face and above-average massed ass that being in a relationship with someone would be something difficult to come by. Honestly, she didn't blame anyone for it either, she couldn't stand herself a lot of the time anyway.

So how did she end up here? Terrified at the thought of Possibly being interested in someone for the first time. It wasn't like she hadn't had a crush before, there was Johnny, Patrick, Andrew, Brent, Corey, and maybe a few more. But those had been unrealistic, adolescent whims that were merely fueled by boredom-induced schoolgirl daydreams. There was no actual prospect of them ever becoming something real, ever. Those boys were the top of the class, or the best sports players, or the most popular, while Reagan was....not. So today, well today was something completely new for her. She didn't know what to think, because for the first time it could be very real, and with the least likely of people.

"It was supposed to rain today." He said looking out at the clouds.

"I didn't see any clouds."

"Red sky at night, sailors delight-"

"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." She finished.

He grinned "Exactly."

"Was there a red sky in the morning?"

He nodded, his arms crossed before his chest, "Yeah."

"Well, since you were up at the ass crack of dawn meditating or whatever."

Harry smirked, "Inner peace is not a joke, Rae. And anyway, I wasn't meditating."

"What were you doing?"

"Writing, or rather, trying to write."

"Oh, that's good."

"Yeah, hopefully, I can have something by the end of this upcoming week."

"That would be great."

They stayed quiet for a few seconds, just watching the waves go in and out upon the sand. Harry's mind was racing though, he didn't know how to approach Reagan about how he was feeling, or if he should at all. Sure, he could get her flustered and worked up, but did that mean anything?

"How are you and Niall doing?" She asked, still looking at the horizon, the now gloomy sky covering the sun.

"We're alright, why do you ask?"

"Last I saw you two were about to have a fight in the studio."

"Actually, last you saw we were actually making up."

"So...that's normal?"

"The fighting?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, "Well, yeah. We're always together Rae, it's not going to be smooth sailing all the time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We don't mean the bad things in the end anyway."

She nodded.

"So, uh..." He began articulately, "You know..."

"What do I know?"

"The whole thing with the banana, I'm sorry."

She smiled slightly, "It's okay. I'm just not used to people practically force-feeding me, they usually try to take the food away." She shrugged, acting as if that remark she made at herself didn't hurt.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

He turned to face her then and of course, she had to do so as well.

"Don't tear yourself down like that."

"But I'm not. I'm stating a fact."

"That you shouldn't eat?"

"No. Just that people don't think I should eat."

"Do you know how stupid that sounds? Do you know how incredibly asinine that statement sounds, Reagan?" He asked in a very angry tone of voice.

"I...I know, Harry."

She stayed quiet for an indefinite period of time, the only things that sounded were the waves and the seagulls, nothing more, nothing less. And it dawned on Harry that he knew that he was so much more than what people thought of him, but Reagan didn't. It took him such a long time to get to that place where he felt more comfortable with himself, with the world, and he knew that before she could ever love him, or anyone for that matter, she needed to love herself first. He wanted to help, he wanted her to see why he fancied her, but he knew that was something only she could do. And that's not to say that Harry never has a bit of self-doubt gnawing away at him, not at all. He was human after all. It was just a matter of finding a middle ground, of knowing that there are at least five things about yourself that you love and wouldn't trade for the world. It wasn't about never feeling self-conscious or embarrassed, it was loving yourself despite all your imperfections, and despite all the embarrassments and things that may get you down.

"Look." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked down at it as if it were a foreign object, but he ignored the glance, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for saying that, I'm sorry for trying to force-feed you, and I'm sorry for trying to kiss you."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

All Reagan could think was that of course, he was sorry for trying to kiss her because he didn't mean it. He was messing with her. And now, he wanted to make it explicitly clear that it was just that, a game. He was playing a game to make her laugh or entertain himself, he had no intentions of actually kissing her.

"Um, it's okay." She said, biting down on her lip.

"Then why did you say "oh"?"

"I just..."

"What?"

"You don't have to apologize for those things."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It just feels like if you apologize for it, that it makes it seem as if you did something wrong."

"But I did."

"You said that because it was true, it was a stupid thing for me to say. I just can't help it. Sometimes you're wired to think a certain way, you know?" She paused and he nodded slightly so she continued, "And the banana thing, it's okay too. You just wanted to make sure I ate, and honestly, I don't think anyone has every worried about me eating." She smiled at him, letting him know it wasn't a jab at herself, just a plain fact. "And uh, the kissing thing, well it's fine. You were just messing around, it's not like you actually want to kiss me or anything."

He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair before looking at her head on and saying, "Good God, Rae!"

"What!?"

The sky was growing darker and she couldn't hear the seagulls anymore. She knew that rain was looming, but Harry didn't seem to care.

"I wasn't messing around. I mean, I was a tad, but the intention was there, it was real."

"What was!?"

He took her by the shoulders and boy did she feel the height difference at that point. He had to have had a good three inches on her, making him bend slightly to look directly into her eyes.

The waves were crashing violently and she felt raindrops falling upon her head, but in that moment all she saw was Harry and all that she could hear was her heart beating a million miles a minute.

"Reagan?"

"Yeah?"

He tilted his face slightly, bring his hand up to her chin and tilting her face almost to match his. She didn't understand what he was doing.

Thunder broke and waves began to grow larger and her heart was pounding and his hand felt so warm upon her face. She didn't know what he wanted, but at the same time she kind of did.

He said it anyway, one last time, "I'm going to kiss you."

"Harry." She said, almost pleading with him.

"I am going to kiss you, damn it."

The rain poured and he kept looking into her eyes and she felt as if she was getting a second wind within her, something making her so much more powerful than she had ever felt before.

"No, you're not." She said.

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm kissing you."


	14. Chapter 14

First kisses are made up to be the biggest of events, the point where everything changes in your almost meaningless life. It is the first time you experience love, the first time you experience someone wanting you back, and there's nothing really quite like it. The fact that you've liked someone so long and they admit they like you back and it culminates in a kiss? It's simply perfect. Does it define almost your entire life? It could, it really could, if it's the right kiss. Could it give your life meaning? If it's the right person, yeah, it could. Of course, never having been kissed, Reagan contemplated this thought as she looked at Harry. Kissing Harry sounded incredibly appealing, not just because of the kiss itself, but because he would be her first, and they say you never forget your first. As much as it pained her to admit it, she never wanted to forget the days she's spent with Harry.

Reagan looked up at Harry's surprised face and smiled before getting on the tips of her toes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and couldn't help but feel like it was right, so right. He smiled at her, still taken aback obviously, but so incredibly ready. She leaned in, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and when she was just about an inch away she stopped. He looked at her questioningly, not understanding why she didn't go for it already.

It wasn't a matter of nervousness or anything of the sort. She was just giving Harry a taste of his own medicine.

She smirked, "Just kidding."

As much as she wanted to kiss him, he had been such a dick to her that she couldn't just simply kiss him that easily. No, he had to work for it. She wasn't going to give him her first kiss just because.

"What!?"

"Like I'm really going to kiss you."

She attempted to pull away from him, but he wasn't having it. Instead, he pulled her towards him with such force, that she gasped. Her hands were on his chest and his arms were tightly wrapped around her and he said with a certain cockiness in his voice, "No, maybe you're not, but I sure as hell am."

And he did.

He pressed his lips to hers and Reagan's eyes widened at the contact. She didn't think he would actually do it, but she secretly hoped he would. His lips pressed against hers, his hands hot upon her now damp shirt, her hands tightened upon his chest and he couldn't help but chuckle softly against her lips.

When he pulled back and smiled that goofy looking smile of his, she couldn't help but laugh. It was pouring then, rain drenching them from head to toe. He chuckled too, keeping his arms around her. Her hair was already wet, making large strands stick to her flushed face. He tried to push them back, but instead, she placed her hands back onto his neck and pulled him down to her level, kissing him.

He felt her smile upon his own lips and upon breaking contact said, "I thought you didn't want my germs."

"Well, they are rather charming."

"See, I told you."

As the rain continued to fall down upon them, Reagan realized what had just happened. It really hit her hard. She had just kissed Harry Styles, and she really shouldn't have. She began shaking a bit, "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"This doesn't mean anything." She stepped away from him and tried her best to compose herself. She knew that it was a spur of the moment thing, that she couldn't get caught up in all of the emotion, "I just...it can't mean anything."

"What are you talking about?"

"We come from two completely different worlds Harry. We lead two completely different lives! Please tell me how this could ever work?"

"It can!"

"But how? How!?"

Harry felt that euphoric feeling leave his body, being replaced with the crippling feeling of helplessness. Yes, Reagan was right. His career had cost him much, especially relationships, but he didn't think it mattered with Reagan. For the first time, it didn't matter to him because he was set on making it work, he had to make it work.

He shook his head, "All that matters is that you fancy me and I fancy you. Why is that not enough?"

"Because you're not in a position to be deciding things like that, Harry. If I want a relationship with you, it's not only going to be with you. It's going to be with your band, your millions of fans, your career. I don't know if I can do that. I don't even know if I'm worth it."

"What?"

"Am I worth all this trouble? Have you really sat down and thought about it? Because I don't think you have. Think about all your other girlfriends, what did they go through when they were with you?"

"Most of them were publicity stunts, Rae."

"What about the ones that weren't?"

"There weren't ones that weren't."

"What?" Her mouth opened in shock.

"I never really dated anyone. I mean yeah, a hookup here and there, but most of those girls you've seen me with, you've seen me with for a reason. You work in PR, Rae, you know how it is don't you?" She nodded in disbelief, "I know the paps are inevitable but I wouldn't purposely drag you to them, give me some credit. Those other girls were with me to be photographed, that's it. You though, you wouldn't be, and I would protect you. I would do anything to make sure you were okay."

"Harry..."

"Reagan, I like you, I really do."

"But why? How!? We've only known each other, like, a week! In what world does the make sense? You don't even know me!"

"Reagan, I could know you for a day or for a lifetime and I'd still know that I liked you. It isn't about time, you don't base how much you like someone on time. You don't divide your feelings up like that, you can't say, 'Oh well after three months I'll like her. Maybe after two years, I'll love her.' No! You don't decide, your heart decides before you can even rationalize it."

"Okay, Harry, you like me. I don't know why, but you do, and god, as wonderful as that sounds it just doesn't fix everything. I mean, what about everything else? What about my job? Your career? What do we do about that?"

"Do you like me?" He smiled, his hair limp upon his forehead and his curls now straight strands upon his shoulders.

She looked up at him, his silly-looking face now because of rain, and couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, I kind of do."

His face brightened and his smile was so wide that it seemed as if it would take over his entire face.

"But." She added, "I also kind of still hate you."

"That's expected." He shrugged, wrapping his arms around her again.

"Seriously though. How is this going to work?"

"Do you...not want to tell anyone?"

"Lydia would fire me, Harry. I'd probably never get to work in the industry again, she'd ruin me. Do you know how bad it is to date your client?"

"So we're not telling anyone?" He asked, a bit disappointed.

"Can't we wait until the campaign is over? I mean, if this even works out."

"If it works out?" He asked, a tad outraged.

"A lot can happen in seven months."

"You have a point, I mean, a lot happened in a week." He said, kissing her forehead.

She stepped away, "Stop that."

"Aw, you don't like me anymore?"

"I just..." She swiped her damp forehead and felt beads of water fly off. They were completely and utterly soaked and she shivered a tad, "I'm not ready for all of this, you know? It's a lot."

"One step at a time then. You know how I feel, I know how you feel, I think that's a pretty big step."

"Yeah."

"Do you just...want to keep being friends?"

She shrugged, she didn't really know what she wanted. She knew she didn't want this to get messy, for it to cause trouble. She also didn't want to lose Harry as a friend, she grew to care for him somehow. She didn't want to lose him because one day they might have a stupid fight and that stupid fight will lead to a breakup and that break up will be the end. She knew she was being selfish, but she didn't want to lose him. She felt stupid thinking about it, knowing that she didn't just want to be friends, but that the circumstances were just too weird.

"I don't know."

"Do you want to be in a relationship?"

She shook her head, "Do we need a label? Do we really? I like you, you like me, let's just see what happens."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, "When the campaign and the tour and everything is over for a while, then we can decide what this is."

"Do I still get to kiss you?"

She furrowed her brow, "Is that really what matters?"

He pressed her to him, leaning down and kissing her so forcefully and so longingly that he left her head spinning.

"You tell me." He muttered in her ear.

She stammered, stepping back from him, "You can't kiss me...not yet. Not anymore."

He smirked but accepted what she told him. He knew better than to fight her on it.

"Hugging? Hand holding?"

"Not in public."

"What about," He lifted his eyebrows suggestively and smirked.

She smacked his arm roughly, "Pig."

"I am not a pig!"

"Then why would you insinuate that!"

"Rae, calm down. Let's get out of this rain, already."

"Oh, it was raining?" She said looking up, getting rain-splattered upon her face, "I didn't even notice."

"A kiss from me could do that."

"Do what?"

"Make you forget everything else in the world exists." He smirked.

"Don't flatter yourself." She said, starting to walk on the damp sand back to the car.

"I have to, no one else ever does."

She turned to face him, "Good point."

"Hey!" He yelled.

She began to run and Harry sprinted after her, both of them laughing wildly as the rain kept pouring down. Reagan had to admit to herself then that maybe, maybe she really would never forget this day.


	15. Chapter 15

Relationships are always tricky, but only as tricky as you make them. So Harry let it go. He didn't think about the fact that Reagan didn't want a relationship yet, he only focused on the fact that she liked him. She really, truly, liked him and quite frankly it was astounding. For now, that would be enough. He decided that he would give her the space she needed. He really did fancy her, and because he did he was okay with the fact that she just wasn't ready yet.

Strangely enough, Harry wasn't like most men, or rather most guys his age. Of course, he had been with many girls, it's not something new for him. But as he had explained to Reagan, he just knew that most of the relationships weren't serious. He wanted something serious with Reagan, and he was willing to wait for it.

"It's getting late," Reagan said, looking out her window, smiling to herself.

"Yeah, you want to head home?"

"I guess so. We do have to go to the studio tomorrow."

He shook his head, "We're not supposed to work on Sundays."

"But we got today off."

"Yeah, I guess."

Reagan wanted things to go back to normal, but she also knew that it would be a new kind of normal. He knew that she liked him, and ultimately the vibe between them would be a bit different. But she knew that she just wasn't ready to take that step with Harry, god, she barely knew the boy. She wanted them to be friends, she wanted to get to know him. But above all, she wanted him to know what he was getting into. She didn't understand why he liked her, why he thought so highly of her, so she wanted to give him time to realize that she wasn't good enough for him. As much as it broke her heart, she'd rather he realize it now when they were just friends, then have him realize it when she actually really does fall for him. She wasn't willing to have him break her heart when she gave it to him if she gave it to him.

He drove in the direction of her home now, obviously now knowing the way there. Their clothes hadn't dried out yet, the sun was slowly coming out, and slowly it began to look like a normal sunny Saturday afternoon. It was only four, but he felt it was much too forward to invite Reagan over, and far too risky to go out with her in public. He wanted to respect the way she felt about everything and he wanted to reassure her that it was okay if she wasn't sure what she wanted them to be.

He turned to her and simply asked, "So are we friends, then?"

"Yeah." She said nodding.

He turned on her street, slowly coming up on the curve and parking almost in front of her gated driveway, "Just friends?"

She turned to look at him and smiled, "Yeah. For now."

"Ah, what happened to no labels?"

"I don't think you work well without constraints."

"As in?"

"If we don't define what we are-"

"I might just kiss you every chance I get."

She gulped, "Yeah."

"But Rae, I don't think that's a bad thing."

She grimaced, "Whatever."

"I can deal for a while, I suppose."

"Friends." She said sternly as she got out of the car.

"We will be the best of friends!" He said with an exaggerated wink, "I promise."

"Goodbye, Harry."

"Bye, Rae."

He waited until she opened the gate to her luxurious house and stepped inside so that he could leave. As soon as she heard his car leave she leaned against the large metal gate and breathed in and out. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was the strangest feeling she had ever experienced. She was so incredibly happy, so giddy, but at the same time, she knew it was all too good to be true. Soon enough Harry would snap out of whatever funk he's in and realize that he could do so much better than fat and homely Reagan.

Her stomach grumbled loudly and she groaned, swearing to herself that she needed to start eating less. She needed to lose some weight, get in shape, do something to look decent if she were ever to be photographed with Harry. Actually, she felt like she needed to do a lot of things if she ever wanted to be photographed with Harry, to be seen with Harry, to be with Harry. She had never thought herself to change for a boy, and she didn't want to be that superficial and that petty, but at the same time her doctor, her dad, her mom, almost everyone in her life had been badgering her to lose weight, to be healthy. She was slowly starting to convince herself that in the long run, it would be the best for her. She had been on diets before, in fact, she went on her first one when she was eight. When her mother couldn't find her a dress for her first communion and made her starve herself for three weeks so she could fit into the biggest size her mother could find. She was no stranger to the concept.

Reagan acted like she was comfortable in her skin, and she wanted to be, she did, but she wasn't. She needed to pretend to have a tough exterior, she needed people to think she was the snarky, sarcastic, witty girl that wouldn't let anything get to her. She wanted people to think that she didn't care if they called her ugly or fat or useless, but everyone does in the end. Everyone does actually care.

So a diet didn't sound like a bad idea to her, it sounded like something she could control, something that could actually result in something good. She needed that in that moment, she needed to be able to control something in her life. She wanted to change something so badly.

She sighed once more as she began walking towards the door. It had become humid and Reagan felt gross as her jean jacket was sticking to her damp skin. She felt uncomfortable and sweaty.

"Why are you wet?" Kennedy asked, opening the front door and looking Reagan up and down.

"Got caught in the downpour."

"Who were you with?"

"A friend?"

"Where?"

Reagan furrowed her brow and gently pushed Kennedy out of her way, "What? Are we playing twenty questions?"

Kennedy smirked, "Were you with a boy?"

"No!" Reagan blushed.

"That sounds like a yes."

"What boy could I possibly be with?"

Kennedy looked at her and smiled, "A lucky one."

"Oh, please. I'm taking a shower, we can talk later." Reagan walked into the house and darted straight for her room.

"About the boy?"

"There is no boy!"

"Sure there isn't."

Reagan went up the stairs only to find her slim and brunette haired mother reorganizing a closet. She looked at Reagan with bright eyes, a knowing look plastered upon her face, and smiled, "A boy, huh?"

Reagan grunted and walked right past her, slamming the door to her room. She didn't want it to be because of a boy. She didn't want to look different or act different or be different because of a boy. But she knew she had to be, she had to be a different person, someone better than who she was.

A tear slowly ran down her face as she picked through her comfy clothes to change into after her shower. She thought it stupid that she was crying, but she considered it a tear shed for the old Reagan. The Reagan who ate three servings of chocolate cake and ate when she was happy, sad, or mad. For the Reagan who never fit in and was always made fun of. For the Reagan that just wasn't yet good enough for Harry. She was so consumed with self-loathing that she couldn't see the Reagan that made everyone laugh or the Reagan whose smile could brighten a room or the Reagan that Harry had fallen for since the first day he had met her. All she could see was the girl that wasn't enough for the boy she really liked, and maybe that was the most heartbreaking thing of all.

"Reagan?"

She heard her mother knocking at her door and wiped her eyes, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Can I come in, it'll just be a second."

"Fine."

Her mother opened the door and smiled softly, looking at her up and down, "Did you get caught in the rain?"

Reagan nodded.

"Where were you today?"

"I had some errands to run."

"I heard Kennedy, you know, talking about a boy."

"About a boy that doesn't exist, mom."

She looked at Reagan and smiled, "Tell the boy that doesn't exist he's lucky to have a girl like you."

"Right, okay."

"Honey, you know you can tell me if there is a boy. Or if anything is wrong." She looked at Reagan sincerely.

"I...I actually do have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"You think we can...we can start going on runs together again?"

Her mother smiled, "You want to get in shape, Rae?"

She nodded.

"Not for a boy?"

Reagan shook her head, "No."

"Well, as long as it isn't for a boy. If you want to get in shape, you need to do it for yourself."

"I know."

Her mother smiled, almost as if she knew it was for a boy and that her daughter was a terrible liar but that she'd leave it alone for now, "You know the drill, six am sharp."

"Yep."

"Alright, I'm glad to have you back. It was lonely running without you." She smiled and walked out the door, heading back down the hallway and to the closet she was organizing.

And so it began, once again. The last time Reagan had attempted something like this she had ultimately failed, but then, she had never had a real reason to want to lose weight. She had a goal in mind now, one clear curly-headed goal. She knew it would be a long road, but she believed so firmly that it would be worth it. That she would finally be able to go out to dinner with Harry and to say that she was dating him. That making him wait for her would be worth it, because she would finally look the part of the girl who was going out with Harry Styles.

Perhaps that was the problem with the world, it didn't necessarily matter who you were on the inside, but what you looked like on the outside. It was what leads so many to change their exterior, just to fit in. Reagan, the girl that Harry already had feelings for, was raised to believe that he would never stay with someone who looked like her. And that was the problem.

Letting the world define who you are always make you lose sight of who you've always been. Reagan just didn't see it that way. She wanted the world to look at her and think she was worthy, just once, that she was worthy, even though she already was.


	16. Chapter 16

In the past what would usually happen was that Reagan would return from her first run with her mother, and would promptly decide that she was done, for good. She would be sore, and there would be an ache in her chest and sides, and her legs would hurt so much she would complain the entire day about it. But not today. Today, Reagan got in after her run, took a shower, and put on some presentable clothing. There were no complaints, no aches, no pains. Okay, yeah, there were a lot of pains, but she found they were worth it this time.

Her mother was downstairs when she had finished getting ready, making breakfast, and looking as if the run had been nothing but a mere walk.

"You did a good job for it being your first day, Rae." Her mother said, placing before her an egg white omelet and an assortment of fruits, "I'm impressed."

Reagan picked at her food, slowly calculating how many calories she was about to eat. See, the thing was that Reagan actually was very conscious about what she put in her body. She had spent years calorie counting and dieting and running and sprinting, but nothing seemed to work. Or rather, she would give up before it actually did. But calorie counting she always did, it may have just been fueling the voices inside of her head, but it wasn't something she could turn off easily.

"You have to eat all of it Reagan, no repeats of last time you tried this." Her mother said leaning against the counter.

"Yeah, yeah."

She had her good days and she had her bad days, just like everyone did. Some days she could eat something without beating herself up about it, some days she could only eat enough to starve herself. But the worst days were the darkest days, and she wasn't sure she wanted to ever think about those again. She knew she couldn't take this that far, so she ate five bites, stomached a bit of juice, and got up to get her bag.

"Thanks, mom."

"Have a nice day." Her mother replied, eyeing the plate but letting Reagan go anyway.

As she went out the door and faced another ridiculously sunny day, Reagan couldn't help but smile. As shitty as everything may have been, Harry Styles still had been her first kiss, and that had to count for something, didn't it?

—-—

It was as if nothing had changed. Reagan walked into the studio, fifteen minutes before they were supposed to meet, opened her laptop, and started checking the boys' social media accounts. She hummed to herself as she felt Harry's stare upon her, but didn't dare move an inch, she knew that any sudden movements would call attention to herself. So she simply scrolled and typed, focusing on her screen and making sure that nothing out of the ordinary was happening in the Twittersphere.

Harry had of course now gotten in the habit of arriving twenty minutes earlier, just so he could pretend he was busy doing something when Reagan arrived. And there she had arrived as if nothing had changed between them. She simply nodded a 'hello' and sat in her usual spot doing her usual job. He took it as a hint to leave it alone. That the natural order of things shouldn't be shifted just yet. So he did, he left it alone. It took all of his willpower not to go over to her and hug her from behind, push back her hair from her eyes, or kiss her just as he had that day on the beach. It took all of his fucking self-restraint to not do so, and he hoped that in the near future she would appreciate it.

"How was your morning?" Harry asked, trying to break the silence in the room.

Reagan didn't look up, "Fine."

"You have breakfast?"

She nodded.

"I'm on a juice cleanse." He said, lifting up a bottle he had brought along with him.

She furrowed her brow, "Why?"

"When you travel so much you just need to clean your body out a bit. You feel a bit gross after all those months of food on the road."

"You're so weird." She said shaking her head.

He was about to respond when Niall opened the door and walked in with a bottle of water in his hand. He plopped down on the couch before them and laid back dramatically, "I'm so fucking tired."

Harry smiled, "Long night, mate?"

"Fucking right it was. I was up screaming at Louis last night to stop fucking snoring."

"He sleepover at yours again?"

"Yeah, you know, ever since Eleanor left he's been out and about everywhere."

"Wonder when that shit is going to hit the fan."

Reagan looked at both of them, "Wait. Louis broke up with his girlfriend?"

They both looked up at her, "Yeah...oops."

"I need to know these things!"

"Well, it happened before you even came along. Why does it matter anyway, you're just in charge of the album release campaign."

"Yeah, but I'm also in charge of your social media accounts! And if you don't address this soon it's going to explode in his face!"

They shrugged, "Eh."

Reagan shook her head, "Fine. Don't. It's totally not like I know what I'm doing."

"We didn't say that." Harry said, almost pleading with her, "He's just not ready for all that attention."

"Yeah, I understand."

She clearly didn't.

"Look, Paul and Lydia usually take care of breakups," Harry said, trying to reason with her.

"Have you guys seen what's happened with your breakups?"

They wince, and Harry said with a somber voice, "Yeah."

"You want that to happen to Louis?"

"No."

"I'd suggest breaking the news before the album is announced then, okay? That way the album diverts attention away from Louis' breakup."

"That's bloody genius." Niall said tipping his water bottle towards Reagan.

"So you're saying the sooner it comes out, the better?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Funny you should mention that, then," Harry said, holding up his phone to Reagan. Upon it was Louis, suggestively hugging a girl in a teeny bikini and looking as if he were about to kiss her. It was the Mirror's latest cover, released only mere minutes ago.

"Fuck." Reagan muttered.

"This isn't your mess to clean up, Rae." Harry reminded her.

"I know, but still. I have the access to your accounts, they're going to say it was my responsibility too." She felt her heart starting to pound faster and felt her head spinning.

"Oh, so what. She's totally fucking hot." Niall said with an approving nod, "If this is the girl that he left Eleanor for, I don't blame him."

Harry hit him roughly behind his blond head and took his phone back, "Lydia is the one that has to take care of this. you only have to make sure that nothing gets too out of hand if and when Louis decides to post something on Twitter, okay?"

Reagan nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Harry said, taking a swig of his chia berry juice and smiling serenely. That is until Louis walked in with Lydia and Paul in tow.

"We have a problem," Lydia said pointedly looking at Louis.

Louis rolled his eyes, never having been one to particularly like being told what to do. Harry knew that whatever happened, Louis was most likely not going to heed Lydia's advice.

"We saw it." Reagan mumbled.

"Reagan, I want you to do some damage control, you think you can do that for me?"

"Just tell me what to say."

"You need to tell all the media outlets that Louis and Eleanor were over way before this happened. He didn't cheat on her."

"Well isn't that the truth?" Reagan asked, a bit surprised.

Louis nodded, "For once it is."

"Can you do that for me, Reagan? I have some other calls to make."

"Yeah, I just need the phone numbers to the places I need to call. And what do I say, that it's a representative of Louis Tomlinson making a statement?"

"Exactly."

"Alright, I'll get right on it."

As Reagan turned to grab her phone and leave the room, the door opened before she grasped the handle and in came Liam. He was still a tad sleepy, his eyes widening in surprise when he found Reagan in front of him, "Oh, good morning." He said.

She smiled wearily, "Hey, Liam."

"What's going on."

"People found out about Eleanor and Louis."

"Ah." He said, stepping into the room and putting down his bag, "Sounds like you have a long day in front of you then, don't you."

"Never a day's rest with you boys," Reagan said finally stepping out of the room.

Harry couldn't help but love how Reagan was taking everything in stride. For once it seemed like she was really beginning to be in her element. The fact that she was remaining calm when Lydia was going into crisis mode had to mean something.

"It's going to be a long day," Louis muttered.

"You're not the one doing a bloody juice cleanse," Harry said tipping the bottle towards his band mate.

"You brought that upon yourself."

"I could say the same about you."

"No, see this is different." Louis retorted, "Because I didn't really choose to be famous. If I wasn't famous it wouldn't matter if I broke up with someone or started going out with someone else, would it?"

He began to sound bitter and Harry noted it right away. He decided not to push Louis any further, they had been having a pretty shitty year to begin with, and after losing not only Eleanor, he had also lost Zayn. He couldn't really blame him for lashing out once in a while.

Liam noted the tension and nudged Niall. They both quietly slipped out of the room, knowing that something was about to happen. They had a lot of experience with situations like these and knew when exactly things were about to go down. In fact, it was only mere seconds after they managed to sneak out the Lydia moved across the room, sitting at the table Reagan had vacated. Paul sat in front of her, eerily quiet-never a good sign.

"I am so tired of this, Louis." Lydia said rubbing her temples as she continued, "You keep saying you don't want to be the problematic one, yet here you are, causing problems."

Louis grumbled.

"How do you expect people to take you seriously when you're supposedly still dating your girlfriend of four years, and all the tabloids are running you on the cover with your hands all over another girl?"

"We were broken up."

"Nobody knows that!"

"What because we were supposed to get back together? I'm not playing this game anymore. I already told Simon that, I don't think I need to repeat myself."

Harry looked at Louis, he couldn't believe that Louis had actually stood up before Simon Cowell and told him that he would do as he damn well pleased. He was quite proud actually.

"We want what's best for you! Why don't you understand that?"

Louis laughed, "If you wanted what was best for me, you wouldn't have made me pretend to still be with her for an entire year. You would have let me live my fucking life."

"It doesn't work that way, Louis. You have an image to uphold."

"Maybe I don't want to uphold it anymore. You know, the girls aren't stupid. Our fans aren't dense. Do you think they didn't notice Eleanor was never around anymore? Do you think they can't tell that we're miserable? Don't tell me you want what's best for me. Don't give me that shit. You want what's best for our brand, for One fucking Direction, not for me, not for Harry, not for Liam, or Niall."

"Have you lost your bloody marbles!? You ARE One Direction!" Paul yelled, getting up from his seat, "Each and every one of you is a part of this group. You can't think of yourselves as individuals! What you do affects others! First Zayn leaves and now you're pulling this shit!? Get it together, Louis. You're a good kid, we know that, but you need to think about the rest of the lads. If your reputation goes under, so does the rest of the band's!"

And Louis stays quiet, he doesn't have anything else to say, because Paul is right. Harry knows it too, in fact, it was the first thing they had ingrained within them. Although they may have been four separate people, together they made one band. If one of them did something to tarnish their reputation, ultimately they were tarnishing the entire band's reputation. That was just the way it worked, sadly.

Harry clasped Louis' shoulder, but all Louis did was sigh. It sucked, and they both knew it. Once you were in the business you were no longer you, you were a brand, a name, something that needed to be upheld and respected.

"I'll go see where Niall and Liam went, we should start rehearsing soon," Paul said, awkwardly looking at the boys. He knew better than anyone how hard it was on them to be exposed to the business so young, and he hated having to be the hard-ass, but someone had to do it for them.

"And I'll go see if Reagan needs any help," Lydia muttered, exiting right behind Paul.

Thus, Louis and Harry are left alone. Harry looking at Louis and Louis muttering, "Stop looking at me with those imbecile puppy dog eyes, we need to get to work."

"I'm just sorry."

"I'm not."

"Why?"

He smiled, "I'm the happiest I've been in about three years."

"Yeah?"

"I can finally be myself again."

And suddenly it clicked in Harry's mind, "Did you...did you do that on purpose?"

Louis smirked, "Whatever do you mean, Harold?"

"The picture with the girl in the bikini in all the tabloids? Was that your doing?"

He simply shrugged, "Does it matter?"

"A tad."

"And why is that?"

"Because it's fucking genius," Harry said with a smile.

Louis, obviously not expecting praise, chuckled, "Cheers."

Harry leaned back in his seat and wondered what exactly it would take for him to be able to date Reagan. Would he have to plant a picture in a magazine? Send out a tweet declaring his love? Blurt it out during an interview? He wasn't quite sure yet, but what he was sure of was that Lydia, Paul, and the rest of their management would never allow it. He needed find the strength Louis found to say "Fuck you" to their management and finally do something that made him happy.

After all, isn't that what life's all about?


	17. Chapter 17

No, it wasn't under Reagan's job description, but she ended up doing a lot of work that week to ensure that Louis' reputation was not tarnished. Which in turn would have meant the band's reputation would have been ruined, which in turn meant the album would not be successful. So in a way, she actually was doing something that was under her job description, she supposed.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful compared to the Sunday they had, the boys mostly sticking to laying low and working on writing a few more songs. They had spent some time going out to other studios, working with other artists, leaving Reagan to her own devices. Since she was alone she was finally able to eat something and relax a bit. She began designing some websites, some banners, and some potential flyers for the album as she ate some carrot sticks and celery. It had only been a few days, but she felt better. She knew better than to delude herself into thinking she had lost about ten pounds in a few days, but she did guess that she lost at least one or two at the very most.

She got up with her carrot stick, knowing that she had to stretch her legs every twenty minutes so that they wouldn't hurt as much, and paced around the room. She hadn't noticed that Harry had come back early from his break and opened the door as quietly as he could to startle her. To his surprise, he found her eating. Something he had rarely seen her do. So he snuck up on her, standing right above her shoulder as he muttered, "So you are human?"

She jumped at the sound of Harry's voice and choked on her dry carrot stick. Coughing and heaving, Reagan felt tears well in her eyes as Harry hit her back roughly. He didn't need to give her the Heimlich—thankfully—and eventually she caught her breath. He simply looked at her with a smug look as she muttered weakly, "I fucking hate you."

His hand was still upon her back as he inched closer to her and smugly stated, "Now we both know that's a lie."

She pushed him off of her, "I thought you were on your break."

He lifted his empty juice container and smiled, "I finished eating."

"You mean drinking?"

"Well, it's kind of my only form of sustenance for now."

She eyed him carefully, "Does that actually work?"

He smiled, "You want to try it?"

She shrugged, feigning interest, "If it works."

"Depends on the results you want from it."

"And what results do you want? You weigh like ninety pounds." She said pointedly.

"I do not!"

"Uhuh." She replied, unconvinced.

"Look, I don't do it to lose weight. I just do it to feel better. It makes your body just feel clean, that's why it's called a cleanse."

"I thought it was unhealthy to do stuff like that." She said pointing to his array of bottles along with his desk, marked by day.

"It's not. You get all the nutrition you need. Anyways, I'm only doing it for a few days, it's not like you do it for an extended period of time."

"You lose weight though?"

"Yeah, but I gain it back in two weeks, not really an ideal thing for weight loss." He looked at her, and all of a sudden he realized why she had asked, "Do you want to lose weight, Rae?"

"No!" She said very defensively, "I was just wondering."

"Well, from your taste in rabbit food, I'd say you are."

"I like carrots."

"Yeah, but they're not a lunch, Rae."

"Neither are liquefied fruits and vegetables."

He frowned but immediately thought of something great. He wasn't sure she'd agree, but he'd give it a try anyway, "You want to be my workout buddy?"

"What? No."

"Aw, come on. I need someone to get me through my workouts."

She stood before him, hands on her hips, and smirked, "Are you saying I need to lose a few pounds?"

"What?"

"I said nothing about wanting to lose weight, Harry. All I did was be civil and ask you about your fucking hipster juice cleanse."

He gulped, she was right, "You don't need to lose any weight—"

"I'm done with this conversation." She said pointedly. The last thing she wanted to hear was Harry commenting on her weight. She swore at herself for even bringing up the subject.

She went back to her desk, turning on her computer angrily and trying to focus on her work, but she couldn't. Harry was right behind her, pacing the room. She gritted her teeth, she had never met such an infuriating person. His boots clacked upon the wooden floor and with each clack, she felt her grip tighten upon her mouse. He didn't stop either, he went on pacing for a good five minutes, that is, until Reagan snapped, slammed her hands on her desk, and angrily said, "Would you please just sit down or something!?"

"I'm sorry." He said, his arms behind his back and his face looking incredibly worried, "Look I didn't mean anything by it. The lads just don't really like to exercise with me, and I thought that maybe if you were interested you'd like to join me."

"What, and go do Soul Cycle? Go on hikes? Run around half-naked?"

He smirked, "You are a fan of mine."

She turned to look at him, "Get out."

"But...this is my studio."

"Get out!"

He crossed his arms and looked at her with an even stare, "Reagan, what's going on?"

"Nothing! Just please, please, let me be."

"Look, I really didn't mean anything by what I said."

"I know, I get it. I accept your apology."

"So you'll work out with me?"

She looked at him pointedly, "Are you out of your mind? You're really going down this road with me right now? You're really telling me I'm too fat?"

"Reagan! I never said that!"

"Then why do you think I need to work out?"

He smirked, "I saw your running shoes in your bag. I also saw the way you're eating. I know it's hard to start a diet, Rae. Just let me help."

"You are the last person I want to help me."

He decided then that maybe he should let it go, that maybe this was something Reagan needed to do on her own. Of course, he wanted to help, and of course, he wanted to tell her not to be stupid and starve herself, but he knew he wouldn't have any say. He figured it would be better if he simply shut up, and made sure that Reagan did whatever it was she was going to do safely. He didn't want her to, he really didn't, but he figured that it was her body. He did cleanse to feel better, maybe she just needed to find that thing to help her feel better. As long as she didn't do it dangerously, he would be happy to support her.

"Fine." He mumbled, "I'll leave it alone."

"Good."

She went back to her computer and Harry pulled up a chair beside her. She sighed, but let him sit next to her anyway, it made him happy, to say the least.

"Those look nice." He said, pointing at the sample banners she was making.

"I thought we could go for an edgier vibe with this album."

"You're bloody brilliant."

She blushed, "Um, thanks."

He smiled at her, feeling that spark once more, but the moment was ruined the moment the door slammed open and the rest of the band ran in.

"Took us fifteen minutes, but we finally got In-N-Out," Liam said lifting the bag.

"Cheers," Louis said holding up his own bag.

Niall sat down and started eating his own burger before any of the other boys even settled in, and Harry squirmed in his seat. He hadn't eaten solid food in two days. Reagan looked just as uncomfortable as the food began to waft in their direction and Harry suddenly had an idea.

"Hey, you wanted some background music for that video right?" He winked trying to make Reagan understand that he wanted out of there, and as quickly as possible.

"Yeah..."

"Come on, I'll show you where it is."

He got up, motioning for Reagan to follow him, and opened the door to the room. The boys turned to look at them and Liam smirked, "In-and-Out diet is the way to go, Haz." He waved his burger and Harry subsequently flipped him off. All of the boys continued laughing, even after he slammed the door shut.

Harry led Reagan down the familiar hallway, assured that Lydia and Paul were in the lounge on the floor below them with their producers. He opened the door to a room she had never been in and he smiled as he held it open for her.

"What, are we actually getting music?"

Harry smiled suggestively, "I thought we could make our own."


	18. Chapter 18

Harry had led Reagan into an actual recording studio. Not a large one, but it was large enough for him and her and a few instruments. He looked at her with a smug look as she frowned at him. He loved making Reagan feel uncomfortable, loved the way her cheeks flushed and her eyes became instantly darker, greener, as she became angry at him for making her feel that way.

"I'm leaving." She said turning her back and walking towards the door.

"I was joking." Harry pleaded, grabbing her arm and pulling her back into the small room, "Besides, I do really want to play you something I've been working on."

"What?"

He opened the door to the recording area and stepped in, grabbed a guitar, and came back out to sit on a stool. He had obviously been sneaking out to this place to start working on his songs, something the other boys knew he needed to do because he was Harry and he had funny quirks with everything that he put his heart into.

Reagan reluctantly sat down and listened as Harry began strumming. He didn't sing, he wasn't ready to yet, but he played the melody and it was certainly something else. Reagan would never admit how incredibly beautiful it was, but Harry could tell by the look on her face and that was enough.

"It was nice." She said sincerely when he was done.

He nodded, he knew that she loved it, and that was all he wanted.

"Lydia and Paul are going to be back soon," Reagan muttered, getting up from her own stool and smoothing her skirt. She walked past Harry to step out of the room and turned back to look at him when she noticed he wasn't following, "Aren't you coming?"

The fact that she even asked astounded him. He thought she would just try to run out again, try to leave him behind, but she didn't. She actually asked if he was coming with her.

"Right behind you, Rae."

She smiled that smile of hers, that rare one that was kind of unguarded, the one that Harry loved the most but saw the least. Yeah, he knew he was kind of falling in love with her, knew it the moment he wanted to kiss her. But what he would do about it? Not much he could do now, all he could do was wait.

He closed the door behind him and observed how Reagan actually waited for him. He was really floored, he couldn't believe she was actually waiting for him. She actually wanted to walk beside him and talk to him, and it was an amazing feeling.

She looked down at her feet shyly as Harry walked up beside her. He looked at her and smiled, "So, did you like it?"

She nodded, "Pretty good. I would think it would have lyrics by now though."

"Kind of do, can't rush perfection though."

"It's going to take you forever then."

He nudged her with his shoulder and she laughed.

"No, but really, I heard the boys saying that it takes you so long to just write two or three songs."

"I'm not a machine Rae, I can't just crank them out."

"I know, but, I don't know, I guess I thought it didn't take you so long." She shrugged.

"Well, it does. Now you know why I'm so meticulous about them."

"Yeah."

He nodded and they started walking back to the room, hoping that it no longer smelt like cheeseburgers and french fries. Harry's stomach growled ferociously and he reminded himself that he only had another day to finish the cleanse. Besides, he had a delicious island coconut juice waiting for him at home for dinner, his favorite.

Reagan opens the door to find the boys already at work, all penning something or working with an instrument. Harry smiled and went right to his desk and began working. For once, it was a pretty productive afternoon with minimal complaints. Paul even smiled a bit when he saw everyone in the room on task.

The fact that Paul let them leave a bit early was also unusual, but Harry supposed it was because they actually did end up recording a song and finishing the lyrics to two of the pieces Louis and Liam were stuck on. So when he caught Reagan after everyone had left and wanted her to drive him home, he was a little peeved she wouldn't.

"No way." She said firmly.

"But-"

"Are you kidding me? And have your guards chase me? No thanks."

"I brought my car though, they only do that when they know I didn't."

"If you brought your car then you don't need a ride."

"Reaaaaaagan." He said, pleading with her. He looked as if he was about to get on his knees.

"No."

"Can we hang out?"

"No, go home."

"You're so boring."

She shrugged, the last thing she wanted was more trouble with Harry.

"Tomorrow I'm driving us to work and back." He stated firmly.

"No, you're not."

"Remember what happened last time?" He said, reminding her of the time he parked in front of her gate and practically held her hostage until she submitted.

"You can't keep pulling this crap, Harry."

"Says who?"

"This isn't cute, you know? You're not being cute. You're being annoying."

He smirked, "Am I getting under your skin?"

"No." She replied, because if she said yes he'd only be proud of himself.

"Well, I'd rather get under your clothes anyway." He winked and turned away, smugly leaving the room. "See you tomorrow, Rae."

"I fucking hate you!" She yelled, her face bright red.

"No, you don't!" He hollered before the door closed behind him.

She actually did quite hate him, or rather, she hated herself for liking him. He was the most infuriating boy she had ever met, yet, he had gotten her. She was also starting to really fall for him, but God, she didn't want to.

—✴—

Reagan had actually managed to get home before Kennedy that evening. She was sitting at the kitchen island when Kennedy came through the door. Her younger sister, having missed Reagan all week, was ecstatic to have her finally home. Especially since Kennedy wanted to know why Reagan had been acting so weird lately. She had a hunch, she just didn't know how to prove it.

"Long day?" Kennedy asked, sitting down in front of Reagan, water bottle in hand.

Reagan nodded, "Not too bad though, it was pretty fun."

"Heard you're going out running with mom again."

"Yeah? And?"

"When was the last time you did that?"

"A while ago."

"I thought you hated running."

"I do."

"So?"

"So what, Kennedy?"

"I just think it's a little weird that the moment I ask you if you're seeing a boy you're suddenly trying to lose weight."

"It's not suddenly. I had my physical last week." Reagan lied, "I need to get in shape."

"You so did not go to the doctor, don't give me that crap."

"I did too."

"You would have come home crying, mom would have pulled the carton of ice cream out of your death grip, and dad would be telling you how he loved you no matter what, but if you wanted to live a long life you needed to lose a few pounds."

Reagan simply stared blankly at Kennedy, hating how well her sister knew her, "Maybe I've matured."

"Or maybe there's a boy."

"Why are you so obsessed with this boy thing? Do you want to live vicariously through me?"

"Kind of, I obviously have nothing better to do," Kennedy said smugly.

Reagan sighed, "There is no boy."

"You're lying, but it's okay. I know I just need to give you some time to admit it to yourself." Kennedy said getting up calmly, "You know, it wouldn't kill you to let people in."

"I've tried that before, didn't work out."

"Yeah, but maybe he's different." Kennedy shrugged.

"All boys are the same."

"No sometimes you get lucky, and when you do, you can't let that one get away." Kennedy looked at her knowingly, smiled, but didn't press Reagan any further, "When there is a boy, or well when you finally decide that he does exist, let me know."

"Will do."

Finally, Kennedy left the room, leaving Reagan by herself with her thoughts. She knew that Kennedy was right, but she didn't know if Harry was that one in a million guy who was different from the rest. Of course, she got butterflies when she saw him, and she got all nervous and jittery when he was around, and for the first time, she felt a bit more open towards someone other than Kennedy. But she didn't think that constituted love, not by a long shot. She felt like she barely tolerated Harry, but at the same time that could be her pushing him away because quite frankly she doesn't believe she's good enough for him.

It was all too much, and Reagan just didn't have the energy to think about it. Instead, she grabbed her keys and decided to go out to clear her mind, and she knew just the spot.


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks to her wonderful photographic memory, Reagan was able to drive straight to the private beach she had come to love so much. She didn't really know whether she should—especially without Harry—but after having heard Lydia yell at Louis for going out too much too often, she figured he wouldn't even be home anyway. To be honest, if the past three weeks had been any indication it would be a miracle if Louis had even slept in his own bed in the past month. And if he wasn't home, well, he wouldn't notice that Reagan was on his property.

She managed to walk the entire shoreline and the sun almost finished setting as she sat down upon the warm sand. She had picked up her hair into a messy bun and stopped caring what she looked like at that point. She had left the house in a pair of tattered shorts and a hoodie, far too tired to even try. Actually, she concluded that if she was going to be by herself, she should try her damned hardest to like herself no matter what. It was weird of course, but it felt nice to sit upon the sand, wearing something that wasn't constricting and that was actually comfortable.

For some odd reason though, it felt as if someone was watching her. It wasn't that constant feeling that she typically had, the one where she was being overly self-conscious and actually thought people were judging her, no, it was a scary type of different. Her eyes darted around and that's when she saw a figure coming towards her. She couldn't make out the face, nor the body, all she knew was that it was a man. She cursed herself for always refusing to wear her glasses and swore that if she got out of this alive she would always carry them around.

It was a private beach, but it was easily accessible, which meant anyone could have entered. She was debating whether to run or not when the figure called out, "Funny, they said this beach was private. Going to have to call the Realtor..."

She sighed out in relief as she saw Louis step into the light of the moon that finally showed her his crinkling eyes and a wide smile.

"You scared the shit out of me." She mumbled, grasping her chest.

"I scared you? You're the one trespassing." He said with a smirk.

"Point taken."

He sat down and patted the sand next to him. Reluctantly she sat with him, watching the waves crash and the moonshine upon the water.

"You're actually home." She said after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, well, Lydia said I was ruining the band's reputation by getting papped at clubs and parties every night of the week."

"Didn't think you would listen."

"Neither did I." He turned to look at her and asked, "What are you doing here, Reagan Bailey?"

She smiled, Louis had said he loved the way her entire name sounded and she couldn't get him to stop calling her by her whole name now. It seemed no one respected that Reagan just wanted to be called Reagan. She had to admit though, she kind of loved that the boys each had their own ways of addressing her, it made her feel as if she belonged.

"I don't know. I just wanted somewhere that made me feel okay."

He nodded, "I need one of those places."

"You don't have one?"

He shrugged, "I used to. Back in England, it was the little clearing behind my mum's house."

"Sounds like Harry's place." She said, recalling how Harry had said it was his favorite place in the entire world, "Is it a British thing? Do you guys like clearings that much?"

He shoved her arm, "It's different from Harry's. His connects to a forest, mine is just like a meadow."

"Okay. But what about here? Don't you have a place here?"

"When you don't live somewhere for more than a month, you don't tend to get attached."

"That's kind of sad."

"You get used to it."

"Maybe if you had a place you could go to, you wouldn't go out as much."

"Wow, that is so insightful. You could totally get a job doing this."

"The amount of sarcasm in that sentence actually surpassed mine." She said, smilingly.

Louis laughed, "I wasn't the sass master for nothing."

"I always cringed when I heard that."

"Yeah, so do I."

"Then why do you call yourself that?"

"Bad habits die hard and all that shit."

The waves started crashing more fervently so they decided to move a bit further up so that they would not get wet. Once they settled in again, Reagan began speaking once more, "What about when you're on the road? You can't find a place either can you?"

"The bus is my place." He smiled, "I'm the only one who refuses to get off of it."

"You actually like the bus?"

"Right? Weird as it may be, it's home."

"Each one of you is a stranger than the other." She said shaking her head.

Louis got up, "Speaking of home, you're trespassing upon mine."

She blushed, "Sorry."

He chuckled, "Nah, it's fine. I don't use this place anyway. I thought I could find some peace, but all I ended up finding was you."

"You make it sound like a bad thing."

"Well, you are trouble."

"How do you figure?"

He crossed his arms and cocked his eyebrow, "I have a mate, I think you may know him, his name is Harold, a tad slow, about yay high," He raised his hand in the air to indicate Harry's ridiculous height, "He kind of dresses like a pretentious douche, but on a good day he dresses like that Fabio fellow that's on all the sleazy romantic novels?"

Reagan laughed loudly, "Fabio? Seriously?"

"You know, messy hair, wrinkled shirt opened all the way to his belly button?"

"Fabio, good god," Reagan said laughing loudly.

"So you know who I'm talking about, then?"

"Yeah? Why is that trouble?"

"You think I don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"Don't play coy, I know you fancy Harry."

She shrugged, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Reagan Bailey, I can see it in your eyes. You are smitten."

She shook her head, "I am not."

"Well, if you're not, he most certainly is."

Reagan sighed.

"Come on now, I won't tell anyone."

"You have the biggest mouth out of all the boys!"

"That's actually Niall, not me."

"Louis, nothing is going on with Harry."

"I know, that's why he's driving me mad."

"What?"

"It's Oh, look at Rae, doesn't she look nice today? and You think Rae likes kale smoothies? Should I get her one when I pick mine up?" Louis purposefully slowed down his words and tried to sound like Harry, but couldn't help but start laughing.

"That explains that thing he brought me yesterday."

"Ah yes, the green goddess juice."

"Tastes like shit." Reagan quipped.

"I couldn't agree more."

They both burst out in laughter, until Louis said, "But you still drank all of it."

"Because he made me."

"And because you can't say no to him."

"Yes, I can."

"Well, actually, yeah you probably can. But you don't want to."

"What?"

"You know, you can let your guard down around him. He's a good guy, Reagan. He's not going to hurt you."

"Yeah."

"And you know, don't worry about the paps and the fans and all that fucking rubbish. What matters is how you feel, you know?"

She nodded, "I just, I need some time. I don't want to rush anything."

He smiled, "So you do fancy him."

Reagan huffed and started walking towards her car, Louis yelling behind her, "Oh, come on now, I'll make you that kale smoothie you enjoyed so much!"

Reagan flipped him off, and he started laughing even louder, knowing that she had picked that up from Harry and that he would be so proud if he could see her right now. Louis knew that picking up on someone's mannerisms was only the beginning of a relationship and it made him glad to see that she was mimicking his favorite side of Harry.

They say that when your best friend approves of the person you love that it's kind of meant to be. Well, from that conversation Louis had most certainly signed off on Reagan. She was far too witty and interesting to let go. In fact, he wasn't even sure he wanted Harry to keep her all to himself. Louis could see himself becoming good friends with Miss Reagan Bailey, he really did.

"Oh, come on Reagan, it's not that late! You can come over to mine!"

"No!" She was already almost at the edge of the beach when she turned to wave goodbye at him, "Get some sleep, we have an early morning!"

He smiled to himself, waving and watching her go to her car. Harry was lucky, that was for sure. In fact, all the boys were lucky Reagan had come into their lives. He saw his empty house from the spot in which he stood and felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness come over him. He knew Harry always felt the same, and the fact that Reagan most certainly fancied his best mate seemed to ease the loneliness. It was strange, but Louis felt that the better Reagan got along with Harry the better she would get along with all of them. Perhaps it was one of those weird quirks of living with the boys for so long, that it felt as if when they began dating someone seriously they were part of their little family. It hadn't happened for a while, the girls that surrounded them not quite there for them but the fame, and it gave Louis some hope. He could feel that this would only be the beginning of the change Reagan was about to bring.


	20. Chapter 20

Louis watched Reagan's car pull out and leave with a strange feeling in his chest. He didn't care for it, not one bit. It was this strange mix of melancholic loneliness and happiness. He couldn't figure why he was feeling that way, thought that maybe it had something to do with the fact that he hadn't been home in so long, and whether he could even still call it home. Or how his break up was the best thing that had happened to him in five years, the contractual obligation finally terminated. He felt like he was finally free, but free to do what? He could write, sing, be on tour, but what else? There had to be more to life. He just didn't know what.

As he turned to start walking back to his empty house he saw headlights illuminating the dark sand. Louis looked up to see a Range Rover parking in the same spot that Reagan had just unoccupied. He smiled, waiting for the car to park and for his friend to come out.

"Kind of late to be out on the beach, isn't it?" Harry said, locking his car and walking over.

"Tell that to your girlfriend."

Even with the small amount of light from the moon and the distance between them, Louis could see Harry's face flush a powerful red.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, that's what she said too."

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes, pretending that he didn't care, but he did. All he could keep thinking was that one day Reagan would say they were together and that might be one of the best days in his life. He didn't even care how lame he sounded within his own head, all he wanted was to be able to tell everyone that he did fancy Reagan. That the same feeling that Louis had, that melancholic loneliness, that it's been slowly dissipating. But he couldn't tell anyone, not yet. The only thing that made him feel okay about the fact was that Reagan kissed him, that was the only thing. And boy, was that kiss on repeat twenty-four-seven.

"Come on then, we can't stay out here all night," Louis said turning to his house once more, happy that it wouldn't be empty tonight.

"I'm coming," Harry muttered, running after him on his skinny, gangly, legs.

Louis laughed at his mate's ridiculous form when running, those toothpicks called legs far too long to be graceful, and simply stood still so that Harry would catch up to him and wouldn't have to keep running.

"So, Reagan was here?" Harry asked, not even a bit out of breath from running across the beach.

"Yeah, needed some peace."

"Then why were you with her?"

Louis punched Harry's arm and they began walking towards his house, finally.

"She's funny," Louis said, walking with his hands in his sweatpants' pockets and looking up at the dark starry sky.

"She's really smart too."

"I'm sorry I said that stuff about her before, mate. You know, if you really do fancy her, it'll be worth the shit storm."

"I know. I just don't know if it's worth putting her through it."

They reach the house in no time, Louis opening the large glass door and letting Harry go in first. Harry gapes though, "You should really lock your doors."

"Why? We're on a beach."

"Did you see how easily Reagan got out there? What if someone sneaks into your house?"

"Nah."

"Have you met our fans?" Harry said jokingly, knowing they were crafty when they wanted to be, but that they hopefully knew better than to attempt to break into one of their houses.

Louis simply shoots him a look, "Yes, charming girls. Wouldn't do a thing to me."

Harry rolled his eyes, smiling, knowing that Louis was right. He plopped down upon a couch and realized within seconds that he still hadn't been inside Louis' new house. He looked around, thinking that Louis probably hated how modern this place looked and that he probably also hated the high arches and the large windows. He started to think Louis only bought this place because it was secluded. But the fact that he hadn't been to Louis' house yet really began to bother him because they basically used to do everything together. In fact, they were so close people began to believe they were in love with each other. Which they kind of were, just not that kind of love that people were thinking. They loved each other like brothers would, doing everything together. They were the definition of bromance. But then they just kind of grew up.

Louis walked into the living room with bottles under his arm and offered one to Harry. Harry just kind of looked at him and then at the beer.

"It's a fucking light beer Harold, don't look at me like I'm offering you a tub of lard."

Harry rolled his eyes and took the beer, he looked at the bottle completely unconvinced. Yet, he felt Louis eyeing him and felt obligated to drink it, so he took a swig and then smiled at Louis, tipping the bottle in cheers towards him.

Louis sneered and tipped back his own, wondering why for god's sake he bought light beer. He felt better though that Harry was here, and thought that perhaps he had bought the beer unconsciously hoping that Harry would stop by.

Harry looked around and saw that the house barely looked lived-in. He knew that Louis hadn't bought the house too long ago, but he also knew that Louis hadn't spent any time in it at all. Whenever Louis refused to go home, he figured that something was really bothering him. And he kind of knew exactly what it was.

"Have you heard from him?"

Louis looked at Harry pointedly, "No."

Even though it had been a few weeks, it was still a sore subject for Louis. Zayn's departure from the band was just so fucking sudden and so incredibly abrupt that he didn't think it even happened. Whereas he and Harry had a friendship that made him begrudgingly act better, he and Zayn had a pretty destructive relationship. It's just that Zayn and Louis were such bad influences for each other what with the drinking and the partying and the drugs. They kind of brought out the worst in each other, even though they didn't mean to, some friendships are just toxic in that way. They loved each other, they did, but sometimes that love just kind of fostered unhealthy things. I mean, if Zayn were here he'd most likely be getting drunk off his ass in some club somewhere. He never once imagined he'd be spending the night in his house but lo and behold, there he was, sitting inside an empty house with his light beer and Harry on a Saturday night.

"Just give him some time."

"Yeah."

"You know, he's probably really happy now. Kind of like how you are now that it's finally over with Eleanor."

"Yeah, but we both knew it was over a long time ago."

"You know that he'd been wanting to leave for along time, Lou."

"Yeah, but he just left. He just up and left and now he won't even talk to us. What the fuck kind of friendship did we have?"

Harry shrugged. He knew that Louis would take this sudden departure the hardest even though they had known for a while the Zayn might have done something exactly like this. Modest! had prepared them for it, filming commercials that could easily have him edited out and practicing the setlist for the concert without his parts. They all knew, they just didn't think he would ever do it the way he did.

"I think we just need to give him some time. He might not come back, but you know, he'll still be our brother, right?"

"Sure."

Zayn was probably somewhere holed up, painting and smoking. He wasn't out partying anymore, he was probably with his family and fiance, and maybe that was for the best. Maybe he just needed out of that lifestyle and needed to start over, and Louis got that. He just wished that Zayn would have bothered telling him that. He wouldn't dare say any of these thoughts aloud though, he knew better than to get emotional or sentimental. He just needed some time to get over it.

Louis reached for his pack of cigarettes and could literally feel Harry's disproving glare from across the room, "We can't all enjoy juice cleanses." He said, pulling one out and lighting it up.

"Yeah, well, don't think you'll much enjoy cancer either," Harry said getting up and taking the pack from him.

Louis puffed an angry cloud of smoke almost directly in Harry's face and Harry simply glared. It was going to take Louis a while to get used to being chided by Harry daily, but he figured he'd rather that than an empty house.

"You're lucky I like you," Louis said.

"Yeah, well, someone has to."

"Because Reagan certainly doesn't."

Harry shoots him a look and Louis laughs loudly. It would be okay. Everything would be okay. Time heals everything after all.


	21. Chapter 21

It was nearing a week since Reagan had begun running again and somehow she wasn't feeling like quitting. The only thing she was feeling was that crippling self-doubt as she weighed herself because she realized she had only lost two pounds even though she had been working so hard. Her mother eyed her, knowing that Reagan had just stepped off the scale, and smiled understandingly, "You're gaining muscle, honey."

She nodded, going into her room, and not bothering to give an answer. She knew that her mom worried about her, she did, but she also knew that this whole weight loss thing was just kind of over her head. Her mom had always been thin, always been worried about her weight and her looks. She inherited her dad's size, his easygoingness, and his love of food. So when her mom told her not to worry, she tended not to believe her. Her mother just didn't understand, and she didn't blame her, not at all, but her mom tended to just see things only through her point of view. It wasn't hard for her to stay in shape, and when Reagan had started gaining it weight it was hard for her not to say anything. Reagan had always been a big child, her parents had not worried thinking she would just lose her baby fat, but she never did. So her mom tried her hardest to get Reagan to lose it when she saw it wasn't going away.

For a long time, Reagan believed she just wasn't good enough for anyone, not even her parents. Her parents were so bent on having her lose weight, on making her presentable to the world, that she just got it engraved into her mind that she had to weigh a certain amount in order to make her parents proud. It wasn't until Reagan got sick that her parents realized that what they had done was actually hurt her instead of helping her. She knew they did it out of love, she knew that they just wanted her to be the best version of herself, and she knew that maybe she just took it too far.

Those were the really dark days. The ones where she didn't eat at all, where the voices in her head were on repeat, and where no matter how much weight she did lose it just didn't seem to be enough. Why she was remembering this today she wasn't sure, she knew it would only psych her out. Harry was on his way and more than anything she just wanted to be cool and collected. After seeing those numbers on the scale though, she just wanted to start doing the things that had led her downhill in the first place. But then she remembered how she had passed out in the middle of her third-period math class, how her parents cried and Kennedy didn't understand, and how she felt so lost, so incredibly lost. She didn't want to go back to those days, she really didn't, but she just didn't know how she would avoid them if she constantly had to worry about being good enough for Harry. She knew she shouldn't, she knew that, but she just didn't know how to not think that she wasn't good enough. She had seen his type and she just wasn't it. So how could he like her? It made her believe that maybe she was more than her weight, more than her body, that she was also kind and witty and charming and that in itself was beautiful. But how long would that beauty be enough? Would it ever be enough?

"Reagan!"

She jumped as she heard her mother's voice and responded, "Yeah?" as she finished putting things into her purse.

"Someone's honking like crazy out there! I'm going to go tell them to move!"

"NO!"

Regan ran out of her room, down the stairs, and straight into the kitchen where her mother was heading towards the front door. Reagan was completely ready to tackle her if need be, but luckily her mother stopped the moment she saw an out of breath Reagan reaching out for her.

"What?" She asked, completely and utterly confused.

"That's...my ride," Reagan responded, trying to calm down.

"Your ride? But you have a car."

"We decided to carpool, conserve energy, all that stuff."

Her mother furrowed her brow, "You don't like carpooling."

"Yeah. I don't."

"But?"

"But nothing, he offered me a ride, I took it."

'Oh fuck.' She thought, immediately realizing she had said he.

"He? Reagan who exactly is he?"

"He's just someone I work with, mom."

"Is he an intern too?"

"No."

"He works full time?"

"Sure."

"Reagan, you're being awfully vague about this."

"Mom, stop worrying about it."

"Why can't I just meet him?"

"I'm not five, mom. You don't have to meet my friends."

"Oh, so he's your friend now?"

Reagan sighed loudly, getting more frustrated by the second, "Mom. Please. Do not do this."

"He's at our house, Reagan. I can't just step out and say hello?"

"I am an adult! You do not get to do this to me anymore!"

"What is with the attitude?"

"Please, just drop it, mom. I promise I will introduce you some other time."

"Reagan, what is the big deal?"

Reagan started slowly walking towards the door, ready to make her escape. With Harry's practice, she was sure he knew how to be a good getaway driver by now, "I work with him, mom. I just don't think this is the right time for him to be getting to know me on a personal level."

"Then why does he know where you live?"

She edged closer to the door, "I told you, carpool to work. Which I'm actually going to be late for if I don't get a move on so..." She opened the door and practically ran out, "Have a nice day mom!" She hoped her mother would just close the door and leave it alone. She prayed that she would actually, and Reagan was not an overly religious person.

Her mother didn't stay back as Reagan expected though, instead, she stepped out of the house as well, following Reagan down the driveway. Reagan felt her heart starting to race and she knew that if her mother saw Harry it would all be over. She would begin to invite him over, Kennedy would find out she lied to her, her dad would be disappointed that she was mixing her business life and her personal life. There was too much riding on this one moment and she just didn't know how to stop it from happening.

"Mom!"

"What? Whoever is picking you up has to know we live in a quiet zone, they can't be honking at seven in the morning, what will our neighbors think?"

"Mom, please." Reagan stopped walking at this point and instead stood before her mother. She needed to do something without making it overly obvious that her mother just could not know who was in that car. But the more Reagan resisted, the more her mother wanted to see. Her mother just wanted to get a peek at whoever was in that car because she knew that whoever was in that car had to be the reason Reagan had been changing so much. It was a mother's intuition at its best.

"Reagan, what is the big deal?" She reached the gate and pressed the button to open it, only to reveal Harry's pristine Range Rover. Her mother gaped a little, certainly not expecting such a luxurious car. It made her a bit nervous to even see who was inside. Of all the things she imagined, famous pop star Harry Styles was not one of them.

Reagan stood behind her, hand covering her face. Once her mother set her mind to something, no one could stop her. All she could do was dream that the ground would swallow her whole before her mother saw who was sitting in the driver's seat.

Her mother stepped closer to the car, knocked on the passenger side window, and waited for the driver to roll it down. Reagan could only think about how much Harry was enjoying this. She knew that he was probably smirking that cheek smile of his and biting the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing.

Harry loved meeting moms and dads and sisters and brothers, he was just that kind of guy. He loved families, not just his, everyone's. And of course, to no one's surprise, all of these people always loved him back. He had mini families all over the world that considered him their own. He was just funny in the way that he collected families, he probably figured baseball cards were overrated anyway.

Never did he imagine that he would be meeting Reagan's mom so soon though, especially after knowing how guarded Reagan was. In fact, he didn't really know anything about Reagan, other than that her dad was the head at a label and that she came from a well-off family from the looks of the house. As he began to roll down the window, something told him she hadn't told her family about him either.

Regan's mother almost fainted the moment she saw Harry's face inside of the car. He took it in stride though, already used to the looks of astonishment. He simply smiled and leaned over the seat to shake her hand, "Mrs. Bailey?"

She nodded, didn't say a word though.

"I'm Harry Styles."


	22. Chapter 22

When Reagan began working as an intern she remembered her mother telling her never to let people see her sweat. There's just something about first impressions that make them stick. You could be the nicest and most collected person in the world, but you only have one chance to prove to people that you mean business. That was what Reagan learned her first morning at her first internship. As soon as she shook hands with the label manager she remembers her mother telling her not to be nervous, that Reagan was not less than him, that she was there because of what she proved she could do. If you stand your ground from the beginning, then people would know that you were serious. She knew that Reagan would be dealing with a lot of important people and that first impressions were everything. In Reagan's field of work, it was just incredibly vital to always be cool, calm, and collected. Her mom was a pro at making an amazing first impression, it was just unfair how she could turn that charm on within a second. But looking at her now, Reagan never would have said that was her confident, gutsy, and perfect mom. No, that was someone else. She just stood there, mouth agape, staring at Harry as if he was a ghost.

"Mrs. Bailey?"

"I-I uh, yes. Hi. Hello." She stuttered, reaching her hand into the car and shaking Harry's extended hand.

"I'm sorry to have caused a ruckus, I imagine that's why you came out." He turned to look at Reagan and she was pale as a sheet, he figured she wouldn't be of much help.

"Oh, yes." Reagan's mom said, suddenly remembering there was a reason as to why she came out into the driveway in the first place, she cleared her throat and tried to continue, "So, you and Reagan work together."

"Yes. She's our album's campaign manager."

She turned to look at Reagan, "I thought you were just an intern at the label!"

Reagan shrugged, snapping out of her stupor, "I...uh...was promoted."

"And you didn't tell me!?" Reagan's mom suddenly realized that perhaps it wasn't the best time to discuss this. She turned to Harry and smiled, a tad embarrassed, "Sorry, Harry. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"I hope you'll be coming by the house when you're free, you know Reagan's sister Kennedy is a huge fan."

"Kennedy?" Harry smirked.

Reagan sighed loudly, wondering how long it would take for the Earth to finally swallow her whole.

"Yes, her younger sister. Did Reagan not tell you she had a younger sister."

"I didn't tell him anything, mom. We work together. I told you, I don't like mixing my personal life with my business life."

"Ah, yes, well. You'd better be off to work then, you'll both be late."

Reagan's mother stepped out of the way and let Reagan get in the passenger seat. Reagan simply stared at her, even after she sat down and closed the car's door.

"It was nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Bailey," Harry called out the window over Reagan.

"Julie." She said with a smile, "Call me Julie."

It took all of Reagan's willpower to not reach out the window and strangle her mother, it really did. She couldn't believe her mother was really turning on her charm with Harry Styles of all people, he was her age. That was just disturbing.

"No, I can't do that."

"Sure you can."

"No, really, I can't. Don't feel comfortable. I'll just call you Mrs. Bailey until I can call you mum."

Reagan stopped breathing at that point.

"Pardon?" Reagan's mom asked, not quite catch that last part.

"Oh, nothing Mrs. Bailey. We do really have to go, don't want to be late."

"No, no of course not. You're welcome anytime here, it's been a pleasure, really has been."

Reagan leaned out the window before Harry pulled out of the driveway, "Mom, for the love of God don't tell Kennedy. I haven't told her yet."

Her mother winked, "Your secret is safe with me."

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Bye. I'll see you when I get home."

"Have a nice day at work you two!"

"Goodbye, Mrs. Bailey," Harry said, driving out slowly, allowing her to wave goodbye at them until they had completely left her street.

That's when Reagan turned to him angrily, "Until I can call you mum!? What the hell is your problem?"

"You know, one day I and you are going to be together and I'm going to get to call your mum my mum."

Reagan huffed, wanting to respond, but was far too flustered to do so. Instead, she just turned and faced her window, looking at her neighborhood pass her by.

That's when she heard Harry cackling.

"What?"

"You didn't tell me about your sister's name."

"I don't tell you lots of things."

"Kennedy and Reagan, huh?" He said, disregarding her moody disposition, "Don't tell me you have more siblings? Clinton, Lincoln, Jefferson, Obama?" He laughed at his joke.

She simply glared at him.

"No, but really, Rae. That can't be a coincidence."

"It's not."

"So your parents purposely named you both that?"

"They loved JFK and Ronald Reagan," Reagan said in the same bored tone she had acquired after explaining it so often.

"I love bananas and kale that doesn't mean I'm going to name my kids—" And then Harry got that stupid look on his face, followed by a smile.

"You can't be serious. You can't name a kid Banana and Kale! What the hell is wrong with you."

"Okay, but you can name a kid Apple or Rainbow or North?"

"Kale! You want to name your kid after that disgusting leafy green?"

"It is not disgusting!"

"And banana? Really! Like kids don't find enough things to make fun of."

"Fine, I get to name one and you get to name another."

"What if there's three—WAIT. NO!"

Harry laughed, "See, isn't bad thinking about a future with me, is it?" And then he got that stupid look again, "Wait. What about Chiquita? For a girl? Like the banana right? See isn't that better?"

Reagan sighed, "I thought I had it bad. I feel bad for your kids already."

"Our kids. Ours."

She muttered something under her breath as her face turned redder than Harry had ever seen it. Harry knew that he was going to be with Reagan, that was for sure. Whether they would have kids and get married, that he didn't know. He wasn't sure if they could withstand the test of time, he hoped they would, but until then it sure was fun teasing her about the endless possibility of the future.

"I really have nothing else to say to you today," Reagan said slipping on her sunglasses. She had about as much as she could for a day and it was only eight in the morning.

"Oh, I'll keep talking then."

"No, please don't."

"Silence?"

"Please, I beg of you."

"Fine, but only until we get to work."

Harry switched off the radio and rolled the windows down a bit while Reagan laid back in her seat and closed her eyes. She had ten minutes of peace and she was going to enjoy them.

—✴—

From the moment they stepped into the office, Reagan knew something was off. Lydia was running around with Paul, phones ringing everywhere. The boys just sat in the middle of it all, looking numb.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

"Zayn's leaked a song onto Soundcloud," Lydia replied, phone in one hand and notepad in the other.

"What!?"

"Technically it was his producer," Paul added with a grunt.

"Normal 22 year old my ass," Louis muttered.

Reagan swore under her breath and quickly got into motion, "I don't want any of you near your twitters today, got it? Louis, that means you especially."

He waved her off.

"Louis, I swear to God if you do anything—"

"Reagan, please. Just go do your job."

She furrowed her brow at Louis but didn't have time to really reprimand him. Yeah, he was still sore about the Zayn thing, and this was just going to blow it up to ridiculous proportions. She just didn't understand how he could do that to them. She knew they were also so close, she knew that their relationship was more than a marketing ploy or tactic, so how could Zayn have just gone and done this so easily?

She shook her head and realized it wasn't her place. Her place was to make sure the boys' reputation didn't suffer because of it.

God, it was just going to be another long day, wasn't it?

But then, that's what she loved about her job. It was the fact that she would be so into her work that she would forget about everything else. She would forget about her life, about her weight, about her appearance. All that mattered was what was in front of her, the problem at hand. That she could deal with. Harry, her self-image, her mom, those were things she just didn't even want to think about. So even though she didn't even know him, she kind of wanted to thank Zayn for the welcoming distraction. Today she would be so caught up in her work that she wouldn't even think about the fact that Harry had talked about having kids with her. Because, yeah, that happened. That was a thing. But that was a thing she just wasn't quite mentally stable enough to deal with yet. She and Harry hadn't even decided what they were and he had her picking ridiculous baby names with him!? She had no idea what his deal was, but god, she wished she didn't want to know so badly. All she wanted was to work with the band without mixing her personal life with her job. Why was that such a hard thing to ask for?

Oh, right. because of fucking Harry.

Reagan sighed loudly as she logged onto Twitter and noted that it was probably the twentieth time she sighed that day. Being around Harry did that to a person. But he also brought this stupid blush to her face and he got her all flustered and smiley, and as much as she hated to admit it, she loved it. She loved the fact that he liked her. She didn't quite know what to do with the fact just yet, other than to pretend she wasn't interested. So another day she had to spend, delving into her work, hoping that maybe by the time she lost a great deal of the weight she planned to lose, Harry would still be there naming his future children after stupid healthy vegetables. She liked him, she really did, that's why she wanted to wait until she was the best version of herself she could possibly be.

"Louis! Didn't I tell you not to go on Twitter!" Reagan said, snapping out of her stupid daydreams after realizing that Louis had responded to a picture that Zayn's producer had uploaded.

"He was asking for it!"

Reagan sighed loudly, a long day it would be indeed.


	23. Chapter 23

One Direction was no stranger to drama, Reagan knew that. There had been countless rumors, scandals, Twitter arguments, and heated rows. Yet, the boys always seemed to make their way through it. They were able to keep their heads high and continue on. But Louis sometimes just couldn't let it go, and this was definitely one of those times. The Twitter argument was escalating quickly between Zayn's producer Naughty Boy and Louis, and Reagan just had a feeling that it was not going to end well. It never did.

She walked over to Louis and snatched the phone out of his hand, deciding enough was enough. He looked at her angrily as she held it away from him, "Enough! You're making an ass out of yourself!"

"Didn't you see! He tweeted at me!" Louis said indignantly.

Reagan looked at the brightly lit phone in her hand and saw clearly that Zayn had indeed tweeted at Louis in the midst of the drama.

@Louis_Tomlinson remember when you had a life and stopped making bitchy comments about mine?

"Oh, fuck." Reagan said shaking her head. Louis looked at her and held out his hand, demanding his phone back. She hesitated, but handed it back to him with a warning, "You better quit while you're ahead. You know the media is going to love this. Do you really want this to get out this way? You were supposedly on good terms..." She said rather sadly.

"Supposedly."

"Look, just leave it alone, okay?" Reagan looked at Harry and silently pleaded with him to convince Louis not to do anything rash.

Harry wanted nothing more than to stay out of it. He knew that inevitably Louis would get himself into trouble again on Twitter, and he knew that he had no way to really stop him. But he also didn't expect Zayn to go this far.

"Maybe she's right, mate. Don't want it to get out of hand."

Reagan nodded, "That's enough social media for today, Lou."

Louis smiled, putting on a brave face, "Always have struggled to bite my tongue." He shrugged.

But Harry knew Louis was far from okay. This was the confirmation he had needed after all. This just proved that Zayn had moved on, that he was gone. He couldn't help but feel the void now more than before.

"How about lunch?" Reagan asked, hoping to give Louis some time to relax.

"Lunch sounds good." He said, collecting his things and throwing them in his bag.

Reagan nodded towards Paul who had been watching everything quietly from afar, knowing that if he said something Louis would only rebel as usual. He let Reagan handle it per Lydia's instructions. They knew that Reagan had been connecting with the boys and that now more than ever they needed someone that understood them. So for today at least, they let it go.

Paul got up from his seat and went to the studio box to tell Liam and Niall that it was time for a break. They came out, not saying a word, obviously having already seen the drama unfold. They simply collected their things and walked towards the door. Louis followed, but not before Harry patted him on the back and gave him a reassuring smile. They had each other after all, and that was all that mattered, wasn't it?

"I say we go to In-and-Out!" Liam said, trying to cheer up the boys.

Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless, knowing that nothing would cheer them up more than the greasy American burgers they had grown so fond of.

"I second that," Niall says, practically running out the door at the idea of In-and-Out.

"No milkshakes!" Paul warned before they all ran out the door.

"Yeah!" They yelled back before they finally disappeared once and for all.

Reagan watched with a smile as all the boys, except Harry, left the room rather excitedly considering the situation. Funny how food did that for them. Paul left as well, claiming that he had to go pick up lunch for himself and Lydia. That left Harry and Reagan alone for lunch once again.

"It's bloody ridiculous." Harry said shaking his head, "How could he do this?"

Reagan shrugged, "People change."

"And leave."

"And betray you."

He smirked, "That's life then, isn't it?"

"That is exactly right my friend."

"God, it still sucks though." He said, sitting back down upon one of the couches and patting the cushion next to him in order to signal Reagan that she should sit down.

"Yeah, I know." She didn't sit, knowing better than to be caught sitting on the love seat with him while on the job. So he pulled her down roughly.

She plopped onto the sofa and looked at him angrily, "Just because you're feeling down doesn't mean you get to pull me down with you."

He chuckled, "That's cute."

"I wasn't trying to be cute. I'm being serious, don't touch me."

She went to get up, but he yanked her arm again. She was about to say something when he shot her a desperate look and said, "Please, just this once."

Reagan didn't know what it was, but she didn't resist it. She stayed seated beside him and realized she was truly growing soft around him. That couldn't possibly be a good thing.

"There has to be something better than In-and-Out around here," Harry said, laying back comfortably.

"There is."

Harry turned to look at her, "Oh?"

Reagan nodded, "My dad used to take me and Kennedy there when we were little. They were the best burgers in the entire fucking world."

"Wow, better than In-and-Out?"

"Like you can't imagine."

"What's this magical place called?" Harry asked, his stomach grumbling.

"Flintridge Proper, it's basically in the middle of nowhere. It's like a 50's diner, you even need a steak knife to be able to eat the damn thing, that's how big the patty is."

"Wow." He said, practically salivating. He was human after all, and who didn't love a good burger.

"Yeah."

"We should go there." He said, already imagining a road trip with her.

She could tell by the look on his face that he was doing just that and immediately put a stop to it, "Right, so you can juice for the next month and half?"

"If it's for the best burger in the world I most certainly would."

"Whatever." She said with a slight smile.

"Have you eaten?" He asked his stomach grumbling again.

"Well, if you would let me get up."

"Oh, well we can go eat together."

"You eat now?"

He smirked, "Do you want to go get lunch with me?"

"Nah, I'd rather not."

Harry kind of realized then that he had completely forgotten that Reagan hated eating around him. He huffed a bit before getting up and staring at her, "I'm getting a smoothie then, you want one?"

"I guess."

He knew she had no objections to drinking anything, so he figured he could at least boost her smoothie to make sure it was nourishing. He didn't want to pressure her into eating anything yet, he knew that those kinds of things were very sensitive and took time. Why Reagan felt this way he had absolutely no idea, but he wasn't about to make her feel worse about it.

"You want to come with?"

"And get papped? Yeah right."

"You're not going to get papped. It's noon, they aren't even out and about at this time."

"I don't think they send out schedules of when they'll be stalking you." She replied.

"Look, does it matter?"

She shrugged, she knew that she wouldn't be romantically linked to him. If anything people would think she was his assistant, especially considering her size and face. She knew that no one would assume they were together, so what was the problem?

"I guess not."

He smiled, "Good, let's go then."


	24. Chapter 24

"Look, like everything, this is an art," Harry said smoothly as he slipped on his wide-brim black hat and matching sunglasses. Reagan simply shook her head, she could feel her face automatically go into a frown the moment she saw Harry trying to act 'natural'.

"An art?" She asked, looking at her reflection in the shiny metal surface of the elevator door.

"Yeah, Rae."

"Alright." She said in disbelief.

He ignored her lack of faith in him and continued, "You walk with your head up high as if nothing is wrong. As if no one is following you."

"I thought you said no one would be following us."

The elevator dinged and Harry smirked, "It's me, Rae. Why wouldn't anyone follow us."

She rolled her eyes, "Conceited."

He laughed, "I was just joking. Most of the time people photograph me looking terribly, or doing boring stuff."

"Well, if you consider that terrible..." She said, remembering a bunch of pictures she had seen of him on one of Kennedy's blogs. He was always holding an iced coffee or tea, always with that stupid hat or his hair in a bun, always looking like he didn't even know he was being watched. Yeah, it was boring stuff, but she had to admit it was pretty endearing too.

"Look, just act natural. If you do that, they don't really have much to print, do they?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"After you then." He said opening the back door to the label building. He had already known that Reagan was weary about the paps, so he didn't want to make her walk in front of all her co-workers as well. Besides, going the back way may throw off the paparazzi for a while.

She walked out into the perfect, sunny, LA day and they made their way onto the street. That's when her heart started beating abnormally. He turned to smile at her, to reassure her that she was doing just fine, thinking that it would soothe her. He was wrong.

He had lowered his sunglasses just a tad so that his eyes met hers and when he smiled he had caught her off guard because she was preoccupied with acting natural that he completely flustered her. Her heart started doing funny palpitations and she was sure that she might have passed out at that very moment.

"Hey, Rae, you okay? You look a bit flushed." Harry said, genuinely concerned.

"Just hot is all." She said, walking a bit faster.

The shop was around the corner, they would make it in five minutes flat. At least, that's what Harry reassured Reagan before they had left. By the time five minutes had passed though, they were only about halfway there.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Where is this shop?"

"We're almost there."

"Are we now?"

He pushed his sunglasses further up on his nose, "You need to loosen up, Rae."

She looked around nervously, her stomach in knots, "I'm fine."

"Really, because that's the twentieth time you turn around. You going to sprint soon?" He asked, suddenly recalling the moment they met. He smirked at the thought of a scarred Reagan running down the hallway completely barefoot and afraid.

She looked at him sharply, "You said it was five minutes away."

"Well, it's right there." He said pointing in front of him.

"The one with the pink sign?"

"Yes."

They walked the last few steps before finally reaching the shop, and as they reached the door Harry opened it for Reagan. She stepped in and was immediately hit by a rush of cool air along with the loud ding of a bell indicating their arrival. She looked around and realized that she had never been in this type of shop, it was all new to her. She tried to do recon as well, noting that there was only one girl in the corner, sipping on a juice, on her phone. She bright pink chunks of color in her hair and an equally obnoxious colored shirt. Reagan thought it would be a bit fuller considering that juices were all the rage then, but it was surprisingly empty, she felt a little bit of relief at the fact.

"Ah, Harry!" Said the young brunette behind the counter, "I was wondering when I'd see you."

She leaned over the counter and smiled widely, Reagan couldn't help but roll her eyes. She hadn't been out in public with Harry yet, but still, she expected girls to fawn over him wherever he went. She looked at the girl's hands though and noticed a large diamond ring on her left hand. She smiled to herself and shook her head, no one could resist his charm, could they?

"Sharon." He said with a smile, "I need two green goddesses, extra greens hold the goddess." He tipped his hat and smiled.

She simply nodded and got to work, peeling fruits and gathering vegetables and throwing them into the industrial-sized blenders.

Harry leaned against the counter and looked at the relatively empty shop. He had known the gravitate towards this particular shop because it was usually empty. Considering the number of juice shops in the area, it wasn't surprising that it wasn't the most popular. That was just fine with him, it gave him the chance to finally relax in the outside world.

Reagan nervously tapped her fingers on the surface of the counter, hearing the whizzing of the blenders and Harry's humming only made her feel more anxious. She just wanted to get back, and she really regretted leaving with him in the first place.

He put a hand on her shoulder sensing her anxiety and smiled, "We're going back soon, don't worry, Rae."

"Yeah." She nodded.

Sharon finished filling up the two clear cups and smiled once more at Harry as he paid, "Hope you two enjoy them."

"We will." He said, grabbing both and handing one to Reagan after he put his wallet away.

"Thanks," Reagan said as she took a sip. It was surprisingly good.

"No problem. Wait, I didn't get your name." Sharon said looking at Reagan. It wasn't the mean or judgmental stare that Reagan had expected from strangers who saw her with Harry, it was a genuinely curious one, a nice one.

"I'm Reagan."

"Sharon." She said, extending her hand, she smiled brightly again.

Reagan let go of her hand and added, "This is amazing. I think I had one before, was it from here?" She turned towards Harry.

He nodded, "I never go anywhere else."

"You better not." Sharon quipped.

Harry stuffed some bills in the tip jar and headed towards the door, "Alright then Sharon, we've got to head back."

"See you again soon, it was nice meeting you, Reagan."

"You too, Sharon." Reagan waved as they exited the shop. The door closed and they heard that little ring once more.

Even though she felt a bit more at ease, they still had the walk back, they weren't in the clear just yet. As they began walking though, they heard that little bell go off once more, meaning that someone had just left the shop. Reagan and Harry each being in their own little worlds didn't notice.

"Hey, Rae?" Harry asked.

"Yeah?"

"You think we could do something again this weekend?"

She sighed, "Harry."

"Or, you know, your mom left an open invitation. I could easily just come over..."

But before Reagan could come up with a witty response, she felt someone walking behind them. She turned slightly to find that it was the same girl from the juice shop, obnoxious pink hair, and shirt and all. She started feeling that anxiety become worse, especially when she began seeing more girls across the street and in front of them.

"Harry." She said looking around, "I think we're surrounded." She whispered.

He shook his head, "You're being ridiculous."

"Harry, they're all staring at us."

"No they aren't, you're being paranoid."

She turned to look behind her again and the pink-haired girl wasn't alone anymore, she also wasn't keeping a respectable distance. This time she locked eyes with Reagan, and suddenly that means judgmental stare she was expecting from Sharon came from that teenage girl. Not only the girl though, but all of her friends. Reagan felt as if she was in some twisted zombie apocalypse movie. Only that instead of murmuring "brains" all of the girls were saying, "Harry".

"Harry." She said nervously.

"They just want a few pictures, maybe an autograph or two."

"We can't stop." She whispered harshly.

"We have to, Rae."

"Harry, you don't have a bodyguard with you." She pleaded.

He turned and smiled at her reassuringly, "What could they possibly do to me?"


	25. Chapter 25

Reagan had seen enough footage of the boys being ambushed to know that those girls could do plenty. It wasn't that she had something against fans, of course not, it was that she had a thing against people who didn't understand the meaning of personal space and privacy. She knew that Harry was just too nice, and she believed now more than ever that his kindness was eventually going to end up getting him killed.

"We're not stopping." She said, trying to put her foot down.

"Rae, I'll be fine."

And suddenly he started slowing down, letting the pink-haired girl catch up to them. She wanted to keep walking, but she knew that if she got back to the studio without him, she would be fired. So she slowed her pace as well, even though every nerve in her body was telling her not to.

"Harry, I can't believe it's you." The pink-haired girl said unconvincingly.

Reagan knew this type of fan, the type that stalked him relentlessly. She knew without a doubt that this girl had been waiting for her chance to corner him, and also knew that it was this girl that tipped off the rest to his whereabouts.

"It's me." He said with a chuckle.

"Can we have a picture?"

The other girls that were across the street almost threw themselves into oncoming traffic in order to make it over to Harry. Reagan simply watched, hoping things wouldn't get too out of control.

"We want one too!"

"Harry! Over here!"

"Harry!"

Reagan felt dizzy, she was being pushed and shoved and sworn at. She tried to find Harry, but she was lost in a sea of teenage girls and lost sight of him. It took only two fucking minutes for things to get this crazy.

"Harry!" She yelled, before realizing her voice would only mix in with the rest of the voices swirling around them screaming the exact same thing.

She had no idea what to do, she only knew that if she didn't try to get him out, he would most certainly be dead within the hour.

"Fucking shit! Move! Now!" She said, elbowing various girls until she finally made it to the middle where Harry was nervously trying to please all of them by taking selfless. His juice had been knocked out of his hand, and Reagan realized she didn't have hers either, that she must of lost it in the struggle.

"Hey! Wait your turn!" One of the girls said, shoving Reagan back.

Reagan ignored her and pulled Harry's tattooed arm, "We're leaving."

Harry had always been a true believer in meeting fans. Every chance he got, he tried to stop and take pictures or talk a bit, but then days like today happened. Reasons why he had been assigned a bodyguard that he kind of regretted ditching at the moment. So when he saw Reagan's panicked face through the crowd grabbing his arm, he couldn't have been more relieved.

"Alright girls, I have to get back to work now." He said nicely, but the girls refused to move. Reagan had of course expected this, but Harry being Harry had thought that this wouldn't happen again. He was proved wrong once more by his kind nature.

So Reagan pulled him, she grabbed his hand and she pulled him with all her strength, and even though all those girls held onto him with their dear lives she managed to get him out on the other side. And they ran, they started to sprint, her still holding his hand and him laughing crazily.

"We somehow always end up running." He said in between breaths.

"Not the time." She said, clearly focused on getting back to the studio.

"Well," He said as they rounded the corner, hoards of girls still running behind them, "I wouldn't do it with anyone but you, Rae."

His grasp around her hand became tighter and as she turned to look at him, she tripped over something and fell forward. She didn't fall as hard as she could of because of Harry's grasp, but still it was hard enough to scrape her knee to the point of bleeding.

"Fuck." She muttered as she stood once more and took off running, not caring about the blood for the moment, only caring about getting back.

Harry, of course, never letting go of her hand, ran beside her, "Are you okay?" He asked, slowing both of them down.

Reagan pulled him, "I'm fine! Just go faster!" She turned to look back and saw that the mob was getting far too close for comfort.

He glanced at her knee, but when he turned to look at the same mob Reagan had just seen, he just kept holding her hand and began running faster. They were almost there anyways.

"We're going to make it!" He yelled, seeing the glass building and its large spotless door.

They heard screams and yells and various swears, but they reached the door and ran inside, security immediately stepping out and holding the mounds of girls back from the building.

They walked normally as soon as they got into the building, trying to act naturally as receptionists and interns stared at them in awe. Not only was Reagan walking in, sweaty, out of breath, and with a bloody knee, but holding hands with Harry fucking Styles.

As soon as she realized the fact she let go of his hand and walked in front of him as if nothing had happened. He simply shook his head and laughed, heading straight to the elevators behind her. When the door opened and they stepped in she pressed 22 wordlessly and he tried his hardest not to laugh.

"Don't." She said, not even having to look at him.

"Are we ever going to be able to go out in public without something like this happening?" He pondered rather calmly for someone who had just run three blocks.

She shook her head, "Never again, this isn't worth the heart attack or the high blood pressure."

"Sorry, Grandma."

"Hey!" She said looking at him angrily, "I am bleeding, Harry. I just got chased and shoved and pushed and somebody knocked my smoothie out of my hand."

"It was a good fucking smoothie."

"That's not the point!"

"What's the point then?"

The point was that this just proved Reagan's point that they weren't meant to be together. She wasn't made for this life, this running and hitting and constant bleeding and mobs of teenagers. This wasn't supposed to be her life. She was supposed to be working a job she loved, not continually endangering her life with a fucking boy band member.

The elevator dinged before she could answer though, and she thought that perhaps it was for the best.

"What time is it?"

"It's been longer than ten minutes." He replied with a half-smile.

She sighed loudly and figured that she shouldn't walk back in with a bloody leg. It occurred to her as they neared the bathroom that perhaps she should wash the blood off her leg and tend to her wound.

"I'll be back she said." Pointing at her leg.

Harry nodded and kept walking as she went into the ladies' room. She didn't take too long, simply wiped it down with water and soap since it was the best she could do. They would be going home a bit earlier anyway, she could deal. She went to go get some paper towel to dry off her leg when she heard the door swing open, and lo and behold there was Harry Styles with a first aid kit.

"You do realize this is the ladies' room right?" She said pointedly.

Harry shrugged, "You got hurt because of me, this the least I can do."

He put the kit on the sink and opened to find various supplies. He took out the disinfectant and patted the counter top surface, indicating that Reagan should put her leg up on it. She sighed, but did as she was asked.

"Ow." She muttered as the disinfectant began to burn. Harry blew on it, making her increasingly uncomfortable, "You really don't have to. Like please, just don't."

But he did anyway because that was the kind of person he was.

"These band-aids are rubbish." He muttered, looking at the plain ones that were included in the kit. He took out his wallet and sorted threw them to grab the ever fabulous Hello Kitty band-aids. "These will do." He said with a smirk as he put them over the scrape.

"Thanks." She muttered, putting her leg down.

"Just like old times." He said.

She shook her head, "I always end up getting hurt."

"And someone always ends up in the wrong bathroom." He said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Hey, at least I'm not barefoot." She said jokingly.

"Yeah." He laughed.

"We should get back." She said, realizing that they had most certainly been gone more than five minutes.

"Probably." He nodded grabbing the kit.

"You think anyone noticed we were gone?"

He shook his head, "Nah."

"Well, I think everything that could go wrong totally did," She said walking towards the door, but not really wanting to leave.

She loved being around Harry, as much as she hated to admit it, she did. As bad as it may have gotten today, she had never felt more alive than she had beside him.

"It can't get any worse though."

"Whenever people say that it always does." She said with a frown.

"Nah. I think we've had enough bad things happen today."

And with that, the door opens and Reagan nearly screamed, but all she could mutter is a "Fuck" as Lydia walked through the door and came face to face with her and Harry in the women's bathroom.

He sighed before turning to Reagan, "Yeah, sorry Rae, it totally can get worse."


	26. Chapter 26

Harry and Reagan watched as Lydia paced the room. She had been walking the same tiny constraints of the studio for the past twenty minutes, completely silent. Harry didn't mind though, he had been in much worse trouble before and technically he hadn't even done anything that bad. Reagan though was terrified. Lydia hadn't shouted, she didn't even bat an eye when she found Harry with Reagan in the ladies' bathroom, she simply said in a calm and even voice, "Studio. Now." and walked out. Reagan knew that things were about to get really bad if Lydia had to call all of the boys in to have an emergency meeting.

Even though they had been caught in the ladies' room, it was completely innocent. He was standing at least a foot away from her for God's sake. But she knew that it could be misconstrued in many ways, she could get fired while he would get high fived, that's how fucked double standard is. The fact that Lydia still hadn't even yelled at them made her feel that much worse. She simply stalked around the room, heels clicking upon the wooden floor as she paced and paced. The boys sat in front of them on the opposite couch, watching as Lydia almost made a hole in the floor. They looked at Reagan and Harry, almost as if asking what had happened in the span of a lunch break. Harry simply shrugged and Reagan looked away.

"Look," Lydia said finally, "I have enough work to do without the lot of you causing me so much grief."

"What do you mean?" Louis said eyebrow cocked, clearly knowing exactly what she meant.

"You know precisely what I mean. I shouldn't have to worry about giving you access to your social media accounts. I shouldn't have to worry about your well being when you go out in public. And more importantly," she turned to look at Harry, "I shouldn't walk into the ladies bathroom and find you with Reagan!" All the boys looked at each other while Reagan studied her shoes, she didn't dare meet Lydia's piercing glare.

"Look," Harry began, "It's been a rough couple of months. We know you've been putting up with a lot, but Lydia, have we really done anything that bad? The bathroom thing was innocent I was giving her first aid! I mean look at her leg!" He pointed at the Hello Kitty band-aid, his voice becoming more indignant by the second, "She could have bled out!"

Louis snorted and Niall laughed as Liam actually contemplated whether it was humanly possible for Reagan to have died from the scrape on her knee.

"And I promise I won't ditch my guards again," Harry said in a disgustingly convincing fake reluctant voice he had so obviously learned from all the years of pulling the same stunt over and over again. It looked as if he had actually convinced Lydia as if she was going to let it go because she believed he was truly sorry and he would really never do it again, but then she walked back to her desk, grabbed a stack of papers, and threw them at Harry.

"Do you know what could've happened to you?" Lydia asked, her voice lower than Harry had ever heard it.

He looked at the pictures she had thrown at him, hoards of girls clinging on to him for dear life, he and Reagan holding hands, running down the street. There must have been hundreds of pictures, hundreds. But he knew that it wasn't the fans attacking him that irked Lydia, it was something else.

"It's happened before, it'll happen again." He said with a shrug. The boys laughed from across the room, knowing he was totally right. No one could stop Harry from trying to meet fans, it was his thing. He felt he just needed to meet as many as he could, he wanted to thank them for all that they've given him. No one could ever talk him out of it. Although, after all the attacks and hoards of teenage girls, you'd think he'd be more reluctant.

Lydia glared, "It wasn't just the fact you completely disregarded to take a bodyguard with you Harry, it's the fact that now we have another scandal to worry about."

The other boys looked at each other confusedly, but Harry knew exactly what she was going to say, "And that scandal, would it be Reagan?"

Reagan didn't dare look up, she didn't dare. she just kept swearing at herself over and over again. She couldn't believe she had been that careless, that stupid.

Lydia sighed, "Look I know nothing's going on between the two of you because I trust Reagan. I know she wouldn't do anything to risk losing her job, right?"

Reagan nodded, but at the same time didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted. Did Lydia believe nothing was going on between them simply because she was trustworthy or because she looked nothing like the girls' Harry had been linked to before? She was guessing it was the latter.

"Oh you trust her who you met a month ago, but you don't trust me?" Harry asked pointedly.

She disregarded him, "Harry, the public doesn't know who works on the inside. They aren't going to think that's your social media person, they are without a doubt going to believe that's your girlfriend."

Harry shrugged, "So? Maybe she is."

Reagan hit Harry roughly on his thigh, most likely leaving a bruise. He yelled out, rubbing his leg over his skinny jeans.

"We are not together," Reagan said to Lydia.

"Smart girl," Niall said as he elbowed Louis.

Lydia sighed, "And aside from this disaster," she eyed Louis, "we also have news outlets reporting that Zayn has completely broken ties completely with the band because of the spat you two had on Twitter."

"He has broken ties with us, obviously. The fucking twat." Louis muttered.

"That may be, but that's not what the fans want to hear. Isn't it bad enough he simply left with no warning? Don't continue this with a Twitter war, okay?"

"It was his bloody producer that started it!"

Lydia shook her head and sat at her tiny desk, sifting through some papers. The room grew quiet again and the boys felt the need to fill it with noise.

"Who would call themselves Naughty Boy?" Niall pondered out loud. "How do you choose that name? How do you fucking tell someone 'Nice to meet you, mate, I'm Naughty Boy'."

"Sounds like some cheap porn star." Liam chuckled.

"Or that thing mums say, 'You're a naughty boy'" Niall said wagging his finger.

"How did you go from porn star to mum?" Liam asked.

"You should ask your mum that," Niall said with a smirk, only to get a hard punch in the arm from Liam and a laugh from Louis and Harry.

"No, but really, girls have taken to calling that scum 'greasy burrito' on the Twitter" Louis said as the laughter subsided.

"I saw that! Suits him better I must say." Liam responded.

"Did you see the picture of his head in a tortilla!?" Niall asked, about to pull out his phone to show the boys.

Louis took out his own before him and showed it to the boys.

"You made it your fucking lock screen!?" Niall said laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"Enough!" Lydia said shaking her head and rubbing her temples. "I am going to talk to Paul about the best way to fix these problems, I am just going to beg you to please stop getting into trouble. Please."

"Yeah." The boys responded, not looking the least bit guilty.

"Alright, get back to work."

The boys waited until Lydia left and the door closed behind her to finally speak freely. It was Louis who frankly said, "A bathroom, Harold? I thought you'd have a bit more class. Couldn't you have snogged her in the fucking broom closet?"

"We were not making out!" Reagan said angrily.

"I was giving her first aid."

"Could she really have bled out?" Liam asked out loud, finally.

"No!" She replied, shaking her head.

Niall stayed quiet before asking, "Wait. Harry?"

"What, Niall?"

"Are you and Reagan actually dating?"

Harry and Reagan looked at each other silently, but the boys got their answer from the look on their faces. Even if they denied it, they knew when Harry was smitten. And he was gone, far gone. 

"No, we're not." Reagan finally said, rolling her eyes.

"But, one day." Harry said, wrapping his arm around Reagan's shoulders, "She'll give in."


	27. Chapter 27

The end of the day couldn't have come any sooner for Reagan. Even though the boys tried to laugh off what had happened, it just was not as easy for her. She had been working so hard her entire life to be who she is now, to get to that point in her life, to get that job. She knew that if she kept running-literally and figuratively-into trouble with Harry she was going to lose everything.

It wasn't easy for Reagan to get the job at the label. The fact of the matter was her father, James Bailey, was a pretty influential man in the record industry. Wherever she wanted to work he would most likely pull strings and bam suddenly she was the new intern. Reagan resented this incredibly much. She didn't want to be hired because of her dad, she wanted to be hired because she was good at what she did. So she talked to her professor, she applied using her mother's maiden name, and she had gotten in. She had gotten in without anyone's help because she was good. She didn't want to ruin that because of a boy. Yes, even if that boy was Harry Styles.

Harry had driven her home though, as promised, even though Lydia was adamantly against it. Their new strategy was to make sure Reagan looked like nothing more than his assistant if they were ever to be in public together. Lydia had introduced it before they had left in the late afternoon, only to have Harry smirk, Louis shake his head, and Niall and Liam argue how stupid the idea was. Harry of course had no plans to abide by these constraints and planned to continue his carpooling with Reagan and their chaotic relationship. He was never one for rules, and quite frankly that scared her. She had known by the look on Lydia's face that she wasn't about to let Harry stomp all over her with his leather YSL boots, not anymore.

So as Harry drive an annoyed and angry Reagan home she felt as if she needed to make it explicitly clear that they were just coworkers now.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?" He asked checking his rearview mirror for the twentieth time. One of the bodyguards was following them, surprise surprise.

"About today..." She began.

"I'm sorry about that, Rae." He said, gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter. He didn't usually get mad, but when he did it became pretty bad. The thing was that Harry was almost at his breaking point, he hated this aspect of his career with an intensity that people wouldn't ever believe he had within him. It was almost five years of this now, of the constant watching over, the rules, the 'you can't talk to this person for x reason'. He was sick and tired of it. He wanted to be happy, that was it. He loved singing, he loved the lads, and he loves their fans. But being labeled as famous has broken some part of him that he isn't sure he can fix anymore. Every time he tries to be happy, every time he tries to be himself, he just ends up short because it wouldn't look good to other people. He had to please the public, he could never dream of putting himself first with this career and it was just now beginning to infuriate him more than ever.

"Harry you don't have to say sorry." She said as he approached her driveway, "Lydia's right, you know?"

Harry hit the break roughly upon hearing Reagan say that and sharply turned to say, "Excuse me?"

Reagan's eyes widened as she was thrust forward from the car's jolt, "Are you crazy!?"

"Oh, I'm the crazy one!? You want to follow Lydia's asinine plan and I'm mad!?"

"Harry, do you want me to lose my job? That's what's going to happen if we start seeing each other!"

"So you'd rather your career over me?"

"First of all, I've known you how long? A few weeks? A few weeks and you want me to just drop everything for you!? And secondly, my career isn't leaving on a world tour for the next three months in three weeks, is it?"

"That's not fair."

"You know what's not fair? What's not fair is that you're this impossibly great guy who actually kind of likes me, and I can't do anything about it because of how I look. Do you really think people would believe I'm your girlfriend, harry? No. You know why, because I'm not famous, I'm not skinny, and I'm basically a nobody." She shook a bit as she said it, the anger within her gradually leaving as she got all these things finally off her chest.

"Rae."

"No. You know that's the truth. I'm not scared to say it, I know it, that's the reality of my life. It always has been, I'm okay with it. That's why Lydia didn't fire me, it's because I'm me and you're you and we aren't meant for each other."

"Because we don't fancy each other or because society says so?" He asked in a low voice.

"When you leave on tour, you'll find someone else. Someone who's supposed to be with you. That's not me Harry. I can't be with you. It's not just because of my career, it just because life's that way. We aren't meant for each other."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Rae. If you fancy me and I fancy you don't you think there's something there!? There's more to people than their bodies or their clothing size. I don't fancy you because you're the fucking most beautiful girl I've ever seen, even though you are, it's because it's you. You are what I want and I don't know how else to tell you that nothing is going to change that."

She stayed silent.

"You said seven months." He mumbled.

"What?"

"When we kissed when I told you that I fancied you. You said to wait until the campaign was over. Seven months."

"So?"

"I want my seven months. Give me that time to prove to you that this can work."

"You would spend seven months convincing me to be with you?" She asked, completely in awe.

"Love, I would spend an entire lifetime showing you how much you mean to me."

She could feel herself flushing, "It's your life you're wasting."

"I like to think of it as an investment."

"Huh?"

"I put in seven months, I get you forever."

"In seven months you're going to be sick of me, why would you say forever?"

He shrugged, "Sometimes you just know, Rae."

She rolled her eyes, "You are so cliche. Next, you're going to say it was love at first sight." Her voice slightly shook when she said it, even though she was set on playing it cool.

He smiled, a huge telling smile with his dimples showing how true that statement was. He didn't have to say anything, they both already knew his answer.

"Lo Que sera, sera." He said, accenting every word.

"What will be,"

"Will be." He finished.

They stayed quiet for a second, everything sinking in.

"You should keep away from trying to speak other languages." She said, breaking the not so awkward silence.

"I know Spanish."

"Yeah, you said that about Italian and yet you ended up saying 'I anus you're instead of 'I love you' on live TV."

"Common mistake."

"Yeah, I mistake anus for love all the time."

"It's a song, Rae." He said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"I know," she smiled "My mom would sing it to me and Kennedy when we were little."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, Harry. I know all about destiny."

"Good." He smiled. But then he looked out the rearview mirror and saw the guard parked behind them in his small black car. He sighed and simply said, "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Yeah." She replied reluctantly, grabbing her tote bag and opening the car door. She didn't want to fight him, not now. She knew she should have told him to forget about the seven months, to forget about carpooling, and crazy runs and the Hello Kitty band-aids, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. There was a little part within her that believed him, that truly believed that if they liked each other that they could overcome it all. But that little part was constantly overshadowed by the bigger reality, the simple fact that girls like Reagan never ended up with boys like Harry.

Reagan turned to wave goodbye when Harry rolled down the window. He smiled before saying, "Seven months, Rae."

She just nodded, not really knowing what else to say. She didn't want to say no because deep within her she was saying yes. She wanted him to prove her wrong. She wanted both of them to prove the entire world wrong.

"Let the countdown begin." She muttered as she walked towards her gate. A slight smile danced upon her face as she realized that she was really about to let this boy show her that he could potentially love her.

She never thought she'd see the day.


	28. Chapter 28

The short bliss of Reagan's night was cut short the moment she woke up the next morning. As luck would have it, Kennedy had slept over at a friend's the night before, leaving Reagan at least one night of peace before she was confronted by her sister.

So of course it came to no surprise that she was woken up by a raving Kennedy, jumping up on her bed to wake her up.

"YOU! KNOW! HARRY! STYLES!"

"Wha-"

"HE'S! THE! BOY!? HE'S THE BOY THAT YOU LIKE ISN'T HE!?"

"Ken-"

"HOW! COULD! YOU! NOT! TELL! ME!?"

Drowsily Reagan sat up, grabbed her pillow, and threw it will all her strength at her little sister. Kennedy fell with a plop alongside Reagan and pouted.

"You didn't even tell me!?"

"I couldn't, Kenz."

"But why!?"

"Because you blab about everything!"

"But it's One Direction!" She retorted.

"That's exactly why!"

"Yeah, well, this time it wasn't me that blabbed," Kennedy said, pulling out her phone and showing Reagan her Tumblr dash. It was picture after picture of her and Harry running down the street, hand in hand.

Reagan fell back onto her pillow dramatically and turned on her side, facing away from her sister.

"Rae, I think this is one thing you can't hide from."

"Try me," Reagan said, re-wrapping herself in her covers.

"So you and Harry Styles, huh?"

"No. We're not dating."

"That's not what it says here," Kennedy said glancing at tabloid articles on her phone. She showed the phone again to Reagan.

Harry's New Lady?

Seems the trend of winter girlfriends has finally been broken by pop star Harry Styles, 21. The One Direction member who had previously been linked to Victoria's Secret model Nadine Leopold in December has been spotted in LA with who is speculated to be his new girlfriend. The pair were photographed grabbing lunch and then dashing hand in hand away from mobs of fans yesterday afternoon.

Now, who exactly is this new mystery girl? Sources report that Reagan Bailey, 21, is an intern at the label where One Direction is currently recording their fifth album. A far cry from the likes of pop sensation Taylor Swift, international model Kendall Jenner, and of course Leopold, Bailey is currently a senior at UCLA and majoring in communications.

Both Bailey and Styles have yet to comment, but it looks like styles are smitten with his new lady. It Seems Spring is the season of love now, isn't it?

Reagan re-read the article three, four, five times. She just couldn't understand why it wasn't as bad as she imagined it could be. She was so scared of these articles for nothing it seemed.

She went to scroll down further when Kennedy stopped her and grabbed the phone, "you know, they say that when you're famous you're not supposed to read the comment section."

"What?"

Kennedy's eyes darted around the room, "Reagan you know that the comment section is just going to be a bunch of fans saying shit about you because you're with Harry and they never will be."

"We're not dating! And did you read the comment section!?"

"Didn't want to." Kennedy shrugged, "I know what's going to be there."

Reagan snatched the phone away from Kennedy and scrolled all the way down.

Are you kidding me!? has got models and downgrades to that!?

If your going to date fans at least date the hot ones

Gross

Fatass

Ugly AF

Reagan simply shook her head, she didn't feel like crying surprisingly. She just felt a tad defeated until she read one post.

She looks like me :) she's beautiful

Of course, she knew that once Lydia saw these articles she would find a way to put a stop to them, a way to spin them in her favor. But that one comment made her think that maybe dating Harry wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. If she could learn to look past the names and jabs at her appearance, that maybe she could do it.

"I also took the liberty of deactivating your Twitter."

"My private one, right?"

Kennedy nodded, "Instagram too."

Reagan sighed loudly.

"You know you're beautiful, right? That people are just saying these things to hurt you?"

"No, what they're saying is true. I'm fat, I'm not that pretty, and I'm basically a nobody compared to Taylor Swift."

"Taylor Swift is a bitch."

Reagan just looked at Kennedy in disbelief.

"Okay, maybe I'm biased and maybe she's not, maybe she's a great person and I'm sorry, but Rae you're not the one who's lucky to have Harry, he's lucky to have you. You may not be Taylor Swift or some model but you're the girl he fell for!"

"Kenz, I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that I'm totally up there with his supermodel ex-girlfriends. That's not me. I am never going to look like them."

"Why is that a bad thing? Why do you have to compare yourself to them!?"

"I'm not! I'm being fucking realistic!"

Kennedy took a deep breath before asking in a calmer fine if voice, "Why do you keep saying you're not dating him?"

"Because I'm not."

"Because you don't want to or because you believe you shouldn't?"

"I could lose my job, Kenz."

"So you'd rather lose him?"

"He doesn't even date girls for that long! His longest relationship was like five months!"

"Are you stupid?"

"What you attack Taylor and now me? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"All of his relationships were for the press! Hello!? Don't you work in PR? Why else would he only have winter girlfriends? Why would he always be linked to someone in November and break up with them before his birthday?"

Reagan knew she was right, Harry had mentioned before how all of his previous relationships had been stunts. She kind of doubted it though. How could it be possible that he didn't once fall in love with one of these girls?

"I don't know Kenz, I just don't know."

"Do you like him?"

Reagan didn't want to admit it, but she knew that she had to tell her sister the truth. She always did after all.

"Yeah."

"Then be with him."

"It's not that simple, Kennedy!"

Kennedy shrugged as she got off of Reagan's bed, "Or maybe you're just making it more complicated than it should be."

She watched as Kennedy opened her door and left, probably going downstairs to get some breakfast.

Reagan was about to get ready to take a shower when she heard a piercing scream. She ran to her door, down the hallway, and down the stairs to the kitchen only to find Kennedy mortified at the sight of Harry Styles sitting at their kitchen table eating a banana with their mother sitting across from him.

Reagan blushed furiously and could imagine how Kennedy felt as well, seeing as they were both still in their pajamas. Kennedy in an oversized and worn shirt and Reagan ironically in a hello kitty set.

"So the presidents have awoken," Harry said with a smile.

"You aren't supposed to be here for another hour," Reagan said, crossing her arms in front of her chest to at least hide some of her embarrassing clothing.

"Your mum said I was welcome anytime."

Reagan's mom smiled at her daughters, oblivious to the death stares they were giving back.

"You're...you're..." Kennedy said leaning against the counter, attempting to pull her shirt down lower.

Harry nodded, "And you're Kennedy, right? Always was my favorite president."

"You're not even American." Reagan scoffed.

Kennedy tried to compose herself, "Sorry for the scream. I never thought I'd find you in my kitchen."

"Quite alright. Sorry for startling you, I just really needed a banana. I was all out at my house."

"There is this thing called a store," Reagan replied.

"You are quite a joy right when you wake up, aren't you?" Harry said with a smirk.

Reagan wanted nothing more than to strangle him, but she looked at the clock on the wall and mumbled, "I need to get ready for work."

"Get a move on then. Don't want to be late." He said, looking at his watch, "I have a feeling Lydia's going to have much to say this morning." He winked leaving both Kennedy and Reagan a bit weak.

They excused themselves and ran up the stairs.

"Fuck." Kennedy whispered, "do you think I'll even find a guy like him?"

"An annoying, dim-witted pop star?"

Kennedy smirked, "oh please, you love him."

Reagan didn't reply, just walked to her room, closed the door, and began getting dressed. She didn't want to think about falling in love with Harry. Just liking him had already gotten her into this much trouble.

Love would be a whole other battle.


	29. Chapter 29

Reagan stood before her mirror contemplating what she would wear that morning, one hand on her hip, the other busily searching through her closet. The fact that Harry downstairs did not help her nerves and the fact that she would most likely now continue to be photographed only put her even more on edge.

Because of Kennedy's love of One Direction, Reagan had been exposed to the many girls that had been involved with each and every boy. She found it terrifying how every girl's personal life was publicly discussed and analyzed on blogs, how there were countless pictures and videos, and worst of all how there were thousands of death threats. Reagan knew better than to believe the empty threats, the harsh words, the ugly banter, but she just couldn't. She knew that this world would bring out the worst in her if she let it.

She finally settled upon a black dress in her closet, putting it on and realizing that she shouldn't have taken the day off from running. Every little bit she did she believed would help her look better, and now that she was constantly going to be in the public eye, that couldn't be a bad thing.

The difficult part she realized would be trying to dress in an outfit that would allow her to be under the radar, but would still make her look good. Those two styles usually didn't mix.

"Rae? Are you ready?"

His voice was far too close for him to still be in the kitchen and quickly Reagan realized he was almost right outside her bedroom door.

She threw on her shoes before opening her door, only to straight into his mossy green eyes.

"Fuck." She muttered, obviously startled.

"It's almost time to go." He said, leaning against her doorframe. He had chosen to wear an obnoxiously patterned shirt, of course about two buttons too low, and his only pair of black skinny jeans.

"Why are you even up here!?" She looked him up and down and lingered on his chest, "And why don't you button your fucking shirt?"

He smirked, "I'm sorry, is it distracting?"

She huffed, "Why are you here?"

"I told you," he took a breath, "I woke up this morning and was rather starved. So I went to go look for a banana and-"

"Enough about the bananas! Why are you here."

"Carpool?"

"Harry!"

"Rae, I'm not staying away, okay? I don't care what Lydia or anyone else says, I'm not going away." He said it in a calm tone, almost as if reassuring her that everything was fine.

All it did though was put her more on edge, "You had no reason to come to my house though!"

Harry simply smiled, disregarding her completely as he usually did when she got on edge, "Are you ready?"

She stomped her foot, "Damn it, Harry. Ignoring me and the world around us isn't going to do anything. You can't just delude yourself into thinking that everything is going to be just fine!"

He stayed quiet for a second before asking, "Have you eaten yet?"

She sighed angrily and grabbed her purse off her dresser and stomped past Harry out the door. She almost knocked an eavesdropping Kennedy down as she went hurriedly down the hallway to the stairs. She shot her younger sister a dirty look to which Kennedy responded with a shrug, "You don't tell me anything and obviously I can't rely on the media to tell me what's going on."

Harry walked up behind her smilingly, leaning against the wall adjacent to him, "Ah, one of the few who knows you can't trust what you read."

Kennedy blushed furiously, scared to even look behind her, "Yeah like the whole thing with Louis..." She cleared her throat, "I doubt he really cheated on Eleanor."

"Very perceptive," Harry said with a nod.

"What happened to 'we're going to be late'," Reagan said mockingly.

"Right then, it was a pleasure, Kennedy." He placed a hand on Kennedy's shoulder, making her almost pass out.

Before she could help herself Kennedy shouted, "Do you think I could meet the other boys?"

Reagan quickly responded, "Kennedy this is my job. You can't just-"

But Harry quickly cut her off, "Of course you can. I'm not enough for you am I?" He asked cheekily.

Reagan sighed as Kennedy blushed, "I've always been more partial to Louis."

Harry smirked, "Same."

"Wait, don't tell me that's really a thing, because I'm under the impression you like my sister but if you don't and I'm totally way off base and you actually are like, in a relationship with Louis, then I'm totally supportive of that too."

Harry stared at Kennedy blankly, trying to suppress his laughter. Kennedy though in a state of panic continued babbling on, "I mean I know you two are close. Everyone does, and the way you just suddenly stopped being close kind of really made everyone wonder why. It's, just really weird that you two stopped being friends after those rumors started circling. But again, if you are, you know, gay, then that's okay. I know that a lot of fans would actually really be happy about it-"

Reagan cut her off before her little sister could continue making a fool out of herself, "Kenz, he's not gay."

Harry couldn't contain his laughter anymore and it just began pouring out of him, "Good god." He said, trying to catch his breath.

Kennedy stood there mortified, "Oh-oh my god. I'm so sorry! I promise I'm not usually like this."

"Don't worry," Harry said wrapping a friendly hand around Kennedy's shoulder, "The first time I met your sister, she not only insulted me, but she slammed a steel door in my face, knocking me out cold."

Kennedy turned to look questioningly at Reagan, but Reagan didn't want to deal with her at the moment, "Harry, we're going to be late. I'm not saying this again. I will fucking walk if I have to."

"It was a pleasure, Kennedy." Harry said, smiling at Reagan's sister and walking towards the stairs, "You know," He said, before finally going down the stairs, "This Saturday you should come by the studio. I believe we're only working a half-day."

"Really?"

He nodded and Kennedy practically jumped upon poor Harry, hugging him tightly to her, "THANK YOU!"

Harry laughed, loving this part of his life, being able to bring someone that much happiness. He knew that maybe Reagan didn't quite yet want her family in on this part of her life yet, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted her to know that he accepted every aspect of her, including her family. In fact, he loved her mom, her sister was cute, and although he hadn't met her father he would like to think he was also a good man. So naturally, for him, it was obvious to invite Kennedy to spend a day with the band. She loved them so much, he figured maybe Reagan wouldn't be mad.

Reagan wasn't necessarily mad, in fact, she was melting a bit inside. She didn't want it to show through, she knew it would show that she was weak in her resolve against Harry. She really didn't want to egg him on, but she was having a really hard time hiding her smile. She knew that it had been Kennedy's dream to meet the boys, ever since she first laid eyes on them four years ago. She remembered a brace-faced Kennedy, still short and ridiculously chicken-legged, going on and on about how she was going to marry Louis Tomlinson.

"Is that okay with you?" Harry asked, Kennedy's arms still wrapped around his waist. Reagan was surprised he could still breathe.

Reagan shrugged, her smile showing a bit, "As long as Kennedy doesn't tell anyone, I guess...I don't see the harm. You're the boss anyway."

Kennedy shrieked again, only to let go of Harry and cling on to Reagan, "THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU'RE MY FAVORITE SISTER."

"I'm your only sister, dumbass," Reagan said with a laugh.

"Rae," Harry said, motioning towards the stairs, a bright smile upon his face. It was apparent he didn't want to leave, but they had to.

She nodded and unwrapped her sister from her body, "Look. I don't want you telling anyone. Anyone, Kenz. Do you understand me? This can't be like the Taylor Swift thing, okay?"

"I swear!" She said, lifting her right hand.

"Okay. Well, we really have to go."

"Go, go!" Kennedy said, pushing both Reagan and Harry down the steps. "And thank you so much!"

Harry smiled, "I'll see you Saturday."

"Yeah." She said with a huge smile, "Have a good day at work."

Harry turned to look for Reagan and Kennedy's mother but didn't see her. Reagan simply said, "She went for a run. She was probably sidetracked because you came over."

He nodded and walked towards the door, "Bye, Kennedy."

Reagan's sister simply waved, still in awe, as they closed the door behind them. Reagan was trying not to smile, but she couldn't help it.

"She's a cute kid." He commented as they walked down the driveway towards his Range Rover.

"She's eighteen," Reagan said with a smirk.

"Too young for Louis?"

"Yes!" Reagan said, punching his arm.

"I don't think she would mind."

"Oh God, don't put that idea in her head."

He smiled, "I like your family, Rae. They're almost as cute as you."

Reagan blushed, "Yeah...well..."

"No, come back? That's a first." He said, opening the passenger door, and letting her get in.

"No, no come back this time." She said as he got into the car. She leaned over a bit as he sat in his seat, and caught him by surprise, kissing him on the cheek before saying, "Just a thank you."

He smiled, turning his head before she sat back in her seat. He was only a smidgen away from her lips and her heart skipped a beat.

"I have a better idea for a thank you."

"I thought just the thought would suffice." She said, unable to sit back.

"Well," He began, placing his hand on the back of her neck to bring her as humanly close as possible without kissing her.

"Well?"

"I don't know. I was thinking maybe..." His green eyes glimmered, looking down at her pink lips and then back at her eyes. She knew that look and that look screamed trouble and even though every single nerve in her body was screaming move away, she just couldn't find the strength to do it.

"Maybe?"

He didn't finish his sentence and she didn't get a chance to move away before a loud tap on the window made them both jump. Of course, right at that very moment Reagan's mother was coming back for her run and was standing at the passenger window. She signaled for Reagan to lower the window and reluctantly, she did.

"You kids going off to work now?" Her mom said, acting oblivious to the tension between Reagan and Harry.

Harry cleared his throat, "Yes, Mrs. Bailey."

"It was nice having you over, Harry." She said, "Just one thing."

"What's that?" He asked, leaning over Reagan to get a good view of her mother.

"Please, don't make out with my daughter in my driveway. I may be fond of you, but I don't want to have to hurt your lanky little butt."

Reagan cringed, she couldn't believe her mom had actually just said lanky little butt.

"I don't think I'd be opposed to that," Harry said under his breath, just so that Reagan could hear him. She made an inhuman noise as she tried to refrain from both laughing and murdering him.

"Pardon?" Her mother asked.

"I said, 'It won't happen again'."

"Oh." Her mother said with a smile, "Okay, get a move on then, don't want to be late."

Harry smiled as he put the car in drive and slowly pulled out of the driveway as Reagan shook her head. One, she was completely and totally over her head with this one. Yeah, she was getting pulled in even deeper by Harry, to the point that she almost kissed him, again. Two, she was slowly beginning to let her guard down with him and as good as they may sound, it was completely terrifying for her. And finally, three, he was getting to know her family and she didn't quite know how to feel about that. For one thing, he was trying hard to be a part of her world. So did he expect the same? She didn't know if she could adapt that easily, and of course, that was the main issue standing between her and him being together.

"You almost kissed me again." He said, almost in a sing-songy fashion.

She stayed silent because he was right. There were no comebacks or sarcastic remarks left. She wanted to kiss him, it was as simple as that. But would she?

"We're going to be late." She muttered.

"I'll drive faster if you admit that you were about to kiss me."

"Do you really think I want you to drive faster?"

He shrugged, "Come on, just admit it. We totally would have snogged."

"Hey a kiss, maybe. But I'm not making out with you in my driveway."

"How about my place, tonight?"

"Nice try."

He laughed and she smiled and suddenly, even though there was this uncertainty looming above them, everything felt just right for a moment.

"How about right now?" He asked as they neared a stoplight.

She leaned over, and for the second time in one day, kissed him on the cheek. He smelled like peppermint and cologne and she knew she wouldn't get over that fact for a while.

"Mmmhmm." He nodded, placing a hand over the spot she had just placed her lips upon "That's definitely a step in the right direction."


	30. Chapter 30

Reagan was never really good at the whole boy thing. You have to consider that she hadn't even had her first kiss until a few weeks ago. So the fact that Harry wanted to kiss her, wanted to do more than kiss her, was a bit overwhelming. At that point it wasn't even that she didn't feel good enough for him, it was that she had absolutely no idea what to expect. She wanted to kiss him, to do more than kiss him. She knew it was a natural response, that it was all the years of pent up sexual frustration finally trying to come out. And for some reason, on that particular day, she just couldn't seem to contain it. Maybe she could blame it on a case of temporary insanity, or maybe Harry just really is that good with girls, but she wanted to kiss him more than anything. More than she had even wanted to that first time, and it scared the shit out of her.

It was a nice break from the whole mess that was going on though. She wasn't thinking about how she would have to run when she got home because she didn't go in the morning, or how she looked, or even about the whole mess that went on the day before. All she could think about was Harry's eyes lingering upon her lips as he was about to lean in and kiss her.

"You okay there?" Harry asked as they parked his car inside of the garage.

"Oh, me? Yeah, of course." She said, feeling herself blush furiously.

"Doesn't sound like it. Have I gotten you all rattled?"

"I'm tired of these games, Harry." She said, unbuckling her seat belt and grabbing her bag, about to open the door. He locked it though from his side, implying that he had no intentions of letting her go just yet. She simply sighed, "It's 7:55."

"We have a few minutes."

"No, we really don't."

"Reagan."

"What?"

"Do we really need seven months? I like you, you like me. What's there to figure out."

She turned to look at him, "Your tour, your career, your new album," She began holding up her hand and counting off the list on her fingers just to show him how much there was to figure out, "Your fans, your reputation, my career, my family, my reputation-"

"Enough. I'm tired of having the same conversation." He said, taking the keys out of the ignition and turning to face her. "Look, I get it, we can't be public because of the uproar, fine. But can't we...can't we just..." He grabbed her hand in his and intertwined his fingers, "Can't we just accept this for what it is, Rae. I fucking just...I fancy you as I've never fancied anyone before. But you're driving me mad."

She looked at his hand in hers and shrugged slightly, "I don't know."

He looked at her discretely, it had to be the first time he actually saw her cracking. She was actually still holding his hand, she was actually still considering it. She didn't shut him down, she didn't say no. Maybe he actually had a chance this time.

"Look. You want to wait seven months to go public, I'll do it. Not because I'm ashamed of you, not because I don't want to show you off to the world, but because I know your job means the world to you and I don't want you to lose it."

She stayed silent, she knew that if she looked at him she would give in. He could sense her resolve waning and decided to continue, "Rae, I don't care how many more times you have to hear it, I'll keep saying it. I fancy you. I want to be with you."

"Harry."

"It's not that hard Reagan. We'll just keep hanging out, we'll be careful. I won't throw you into the public eye like that again, I'm sorry. That was a bloody stupid thing for me to do. But it won't happen again."

"It's out of your control, you can't promise things like that."

"Then, how about I promise that no matter what does happen, I'll always be here."

"See, those promises aren't that great either."

"Why?"

"People always leave."

"Not forever."

"Sometimes they do."

"But I won't."

She shrugged, "You never know what could happen."

"This is beside the point."

"What is the point then?"

He looked at their hands, his right in her left, and leaned over the seat. He pulled her to him, unwrapping his hand from hers and instead of placing it upon her cheek. She felt the warmth of his palm upon her skin, she could smell his cologne again. She felt her heart race again and wondered if it was even healthy for her heart to be beating that fast.

"The point is that I fucking fancy you, Reagan Amelia Bailey."She looked at him blankly as he stared at her intently. Their eyes locked and she couldn't look away. He simply moved closer, pulling her closer to him as he neared her, "I don't want to just be your friend. I can't."

There were so many things running through her mind, she could hear and see all the comments people had made of her and what Lydia, Louis, and Kennedy had said. Everything was becoming a blur and being silenced as he looked at her intently, waiting for her to respond. She couldn't hear the voices anymore, and she knew it was stupid to think it was because of a boy, but maybe it just wasn't because of this boy, but because of what he meant to her. It was because she knew he was the one and as much as she hated to admit it, she fell for him hard. She knew she shouldn't have and she knew it was trouble, but she just wanted him so badly.

Before she was a boy who didn't just fancy her for her body or her beauty, he fancied her for her quirks and her sarcasm. He fancied her because he had seen her at her worst and her best and never once thought any less of her for anything that she did. He loved her because he saw who she really was, and he only hoped that one day she could see how fucking spectacular that girl is. He fell in love with her, not only for her beauty but for the way she made him feel like a person. Like a normal person who told bad jokes and had a terrible sense of balance. He loved her for all the reasons he thought she should love herself. But for now, he would be content with her realizing that he fancied her and that they should be able to express these feelings to each other freely. The rest could come later. Love could wait until she was ready. But this, he knew she could handle this. He knew that as bad as he wanted to touch her, to wrap his arms around her, to kiss her neck and hear her breathy moans, she wanted all the same things. He wouldn't push her if she didn't, he wasn't that type of guy, but he knew she did. He knew the feeling was mutual and he wanted nothing more than to act on his animalistic impulses. He wanted nothing more than to scream to the world that he loved Reagan Bailey and that she was going to be the mother of his children. He wanted nothing more than to pin her against the door of the car and press his lips upon hers until they melted into each other.

"Reagan?"

"Yeah?" She said in a whisper.

"I'm going to kiss you. And this time, I'm not going to stop."

She swallowed, "Okay."

"Okay?" He said, in complete disbelief. He was almost afraid she would she was kidding like last time, but she didn't.

Instead, she said in a desperate voice, "Just fucking kiss me already."

So he did. He kissed her fervently, his lips barely touching hers and instantaneously wanting more. It was nothing like their first few kisses, they seemed tame in comparison. She moved forward, leaning over the stick shift, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled away from him for a brief second, her eyes looking at him, with an expression he had never quite seen before. It made every inch of him get goosebumps. He wanted so badly just to grab her hips and gently pull their bodies together, but the car didn't allow for that. So instead, he bit her lip eagerly and she moaned lightly, blushing at the intimate and strange sound coming from her, pulling his hair in retaliation for embarrassing her even as they were making out. Only, instead of it being a punishment, it made Harry crazier.

There was heat between them, radiating, almost as if making a fire. Reagan's brain shut down, and the pure ecstasy of Harry's soft, perfectly-shaped mouth upon hers was driving her mad. His hands traced her waist, her thighs, anywhere he could feel her smooth skin beneath his fingertips. His cologne was all she could smell, it was all she ever wanted to smell from now on. And her candy-flavored lips made him want to do nothing more than kiss her for the rest of his time on Earth. They were in sensory overload, both of them so worked up that they hadn't noticed that the windows had fogged and about fifteen minutes had passed. The moments passed in slow, sweeping motions of tongues and swollen lips. They had been waiting for so long, that they didn't want to stop. They didn't think they could.

It wasn't until Harry's phone rang for the fifth time that he finally pulled it out and answered angrily, "What!?"

Louis replied, "Where in the fuck are you? It's half-past eight, wanker. Are you planning on ditching today?"

"No, we got sidetracked. We'll be there in five."

He saw Reagan pout out of the corner of his eye when he said that they would be leaving in five minutes, and smiled to himself as he hung up his phone.

"Don't pout, love." He said, tilting his head so he could give her one last kiss, "We have all the time in the world to continue this."

She shook her head, "We're crazy. This is crazy."

"Crazy has never felt so good then."

She smirked, "We have to go."

"Yeah."

They both looked at each other, not moving an inch.

"Maybe just, two more minutes?" Harry said, pulling her back towards him.

"We're already late anyway." She said with a devious smile.

—✴—

When Harry and Reagan finally arrived at the office, they found themselves surprisingly not yelled at for being late. There was too much already going on for Lydia to notice they were missing and for Paul to get mad. It turned out being that Zayn was indeed attempting to go solo and that he did want to do it with Naughty Boy. Needless to say, the atmosphere was tense.

"It's breaking the contract he signed, isn't it?" Niall asked, genuinely wondering.

"Well, yeah, mate. He can't release anything for at least another two years." Liam responded.

"Yeah, but knowing Simon he'll change it for his dear Zayn." Louis pouted.

"You don't know that." Liam retorted.

"Yes, I do. Mark my words Liam, he will sign with another label and Simon will have everything to do with it." Louis looked over and noticed that Harry and Reagan finally appeared, "Well. Finally."

He looked them up and down and noted how red their lips looked and how sweaty they were. They looked too happy and they weren't fighting with each other. This immediately made him check to see where Lydia had gone so that he could say, "You two were snogging, weren't you!?"

"Shhh!" Reagan said, looking around and making sure that neither Paul nor Lydia had heard him. Of course, they hadn't, too busy on their phones working out whatever it was that was happening.

"You were!" Niall said, a huge grin on his face, "Fucking finally." He held his hand out to Liam.

Liam rolled his eyes, "No, now you said I give it a few hours before they finally snog. I said a day or two."

"Yeah, and it hasn't been twenty-four hours. So, it's been a few hours. Pay up, Payno." He wiggled his extended hand and Liam reluctantly pulled out his wallet and placed two crisp twenties in Niall's palm.

"You two were betting on when we'd...?" Reagan asked, obviously appalled.

"Well, there's not much else to do around here," Niall said, sticking the two bills he had won into his own wallet.

Harry just smiled, he didn't say a word, he just smiled at everyone and everything. Louis chuckled, "You're so fucking obvious Harry. It looks like you're high as fuck."

Harry shrugged, the grin never falling off his face. Reagan on the other hand had to literally walk away, far too embarrassed to face any of the boys at that point. So she walked over to Lydia, who handed her a small notebook with a bunch of notes and phone numbers and got to work.

The boys sat around, playing around with lyrics and the guitar while everyone else attempted to figure out what exactly Zayn was planning to do. Harry, nonetheless, couldn't help himself from staring at Reagan from across the room. And when her eyes met him, he would wink and smile, almost chuckling. She would shyly look away, still not quite believing what had happened. Was that really her that had kissed Harry that passionately? Was it her that he said he wanted? Could it really be that everything she thought was so bad about herself was only in her head? Or was that whole, 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' thing true?

She didn't know, and at the moment she didn't want to care. All she wanted was to relish in the fact that she and Harry had totally had a moment, and that the moment could turn into a whole series of moments. Yes, that was something she could look forward to. Finally.


	31. Chapter 31

Surprisingly, Lydia did not bring up the articles that had been released about Harry and Reagan that morning. Instead, she was attempting to do some work on the boys' image after new had broken the Zayn did indeed plan to go solo. It wasn't the fact that he decided to go solo that was the problem necessarily, it was the way he went about it. Although all of the boys knew that at one point Zayn would be launching his solo career, they just didn't think it would be so soon. Needless to say, the one who was taking it the hardest was Louis.

Louis had already gone on four smoke breaks by the time lunch had rolled around, his hands nervously tapping on any surface he found when he actually was in the studio. Nobody could blame him though, each and every one of them had tried to understand, they really did. From the time Zayn began acting more and more distanced to now, they wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but Louis just couldn't. All he could remember was that phone call from Zayn telling them he wasn't coming back. There was nothing between that time that told them that he was leaving, they didn't think he was suffering to that point. All they thought was that he was having a rougher time than them. That he missed his family and his fiance, and that maybe he just needed some time at home to fix it. That he would come back and things would be okay. But they weren't, and Zayn left. So what hurt Louis the most was that they had spent so much time together, had grown so close, and Zayn still didn't feel that he could tell Louis what was going on. So of course Louis took it the hardest, he had a right to be mad. But that didn't make him feel better, not by a long shot.

"Normal twenty-two year old, right. Okay." Louis mumbled under his breath.

The rest of the boys didn't answer, knowing better than to encourage his slew of insults against their ex-bandmate. Of course, they were a tad irked by what Zayn had done, but they knew that sometimes you just don't feel like you have a choice. They felt betrayed, but at the same time, they were proud of Zayn for saying enough and breaking away from the thing that was killing him slowly. But Louis just didn't understand how Zayn could walk away from the boys he called his brothers, from the life he worked so hard for.

"He had his reasons," Liam said, looking up from his notepad.

"Yeah, he fucked up royally and had to go home to the missus and explain it," Louis said as he clicked his tongue, referring to the tipping point in the boys' relationship. It wasn't too long ago that they were in Bangkok on tour on one of their unusual night off. As usual Liam, Niall, and Harry were at the hotel up to their own devices, and Zayn and Louis decided to go clubbing. Louis had broken up with Eleanor already by this point, he was drunkenly hitting on one girl or another, while Zayn was getting too close for comfort with a blonde they had met earlier that night. Zayn swore nothing had happened, but Louis was far too wasted to remember anything from that night. The only remnants were pictures of Louis walking into a club with a group of girls, and Zayn holding the blonde's hand among other not so great-looking pictures implicating him. Of course, those pictures made their rounds on the internet and had eventually made their way to England to Zayn's fiance Perrie. So what happened? Zayn had enough. He didn't want to lose Perrie because of some pictures, because of his lack of privacy. Even though the boys knew that he would never cheat on Perrie, the pictures didn't look too great and the stories behind them were published far too fast for Lydia to do anything about them. So he left, he left and he never came back.

"You know he missed his family," Liam replied, going back to his writing, already knowing where this conversation was going to go and not wanting to be any part of it.

"I'm not saying he didn't. But we both know that he shouldn't have been in Bangkok that night with that girl. Maybe nothing happened, but he knew how the paps were. He knew he would get photographed."

"Which is why he wants a normal life." Harry chimed in.

Louis huffed, "If he didn't do anything, why did he have to go home? Why did he have to quit?"

"That's his problem, Louis. It's over, okay?" Harry tried, for probably the fiftieth time since Zayn had left.

"I just...I don't understand why he has to go solo now. If he wanted a life out of the spotlight why is he so desperately trying to get back in it?"

The boys had of course asked themselves the same question, but they didn't want to pose it out loud. It was as if saying it made it real as if acknowledging it made the fact that Zayn wanted to betray them actually plausible.

"You're going to drive yourself mad thinking up an answer," Liam said.

"Yeah, you're right." Louis said, leaning back in his seat, putting his pack of cigarettes on the table before him, "What's done is done."

It was obvious from his tone of voice that he was done for the moment with the conversation, but that it was from over. Yet, Reagan on the other hand was grateful for the distraction. Once again this boy she had never met seemed to save her from potentially losing her job. Zayn had once more caused an uproar right when she needed it. Not that she was happy he had, but she had to admit it was pretty convenient.

The rest of the day though went on as such, the boys writing and generally quiet, while Reagan monitored social media and Lydia was on the phone. When everyone decided to call it a day, Reagan felt that it was just too good to be true. That there had to be some catch. How had Lydia not mentioned anything yet?

Lydia got up from her desk, a tad quieter than usual, but still generally warm towards the boys and Reagan. She grabbed her bag, and waited for the rest of the boys to leave before turning to Harry, "Did you see the articles about you two this morning?" She didn't say it in an accusatory tone, it was more matter of fact.

Harry shrugged, "Yeah, expected though, wasn't it?"

He turned to look at Reagan who was putting things away in her own bag, he could see her face flushing.

Lydia nodded, collecting her phone and laptop, "Yes. Well, the last thing we want is for people to think you're dating someone that's a part of your team."

Harry furrowed his brow, Reagan still busying herself packing up her own bag.

"Not much we can do about it. Just let the rumors die down."

"Well, I'm hoping that these Zayn troubles will hopefully be taking the coverage off of you. No more articles have been published about you since speculation about Zayn recording solo hit, so hopefully, we won't have to take any counter measures."

"Yeah, hopefully."

"Oh, and, Harry? Reagan?" She said, pausing before opening the door to leave.

"Yes?" Reagan responded.

"Please, don't draw any more attention to yourselves. I understand that you want friends outside of us, Harry. I know you appreciate Reagan. I know you two have gotten close. But we don't want this to get out of hand."

"I understand." He responded.

"Then please, no more photographs together. No more suspicious-looking actions that make it look as if you're something that you're not."

"We got it." He said.

"And you two are driving to work together, aren't you?"

Harry nodded.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea."

"No one's going to see us, Lydia. Don't be paranoid."

"It's just not very appropriate."

"Well, I just don't think it's very practical to drive two cars here when we could carpool. I mean, I just couldn't live with myself if I contributed to the pollution in the air by allowing Reagan to drive here when we could do so together."

Lydia cracked a smile and rolled her eyes, "Well, if you feel so strongly about it, fine. But the moment I see more pictures in the media, it's over."

"Understood."

Lydia opened the door, "Goodnight then. Be safe." She said, closing the door behind her, leaving Harry and Reagan alone in the studio.

Reagan would be the first to admit that as much as she thought that it would be weird and wrong to admit to liking Harry, it felt good. It felt right. And Harry only further proved that notion by wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck the second that Lydia left.

Reagan breathed in and out, trying to maintain some sort of sanity, "Shouldn't we be going as well? It's pretty late."

Harry nodded, grip still firmly around her body, "Yeah, it's been a long day."

She placed her own hands upon his, still in disbelief that they were there, "This is so weird." She quipped.

"I know. I can't believe you're not fighting me on this."

"It doesn't feel real, maybe that's why."

He laughed, "I don't know. Back in the car, that felt pretty real."

She turned bright red, "Yeah, it did."

"Hey." He said, nudging her.

"What?"

"Turn around."

She knew that if she did, she would most likely be nose to nose with him once more and she wasn't sure she was ready for that again. But he didn't give her much choice, so she did as she was asked, "Yeah?"

He didn't drop his arms from around her, only hugged her tighter to him, "Just wanted to give you a proper squeeze. Nothing more."

She smiled, but it faltered a bit when she remembered what Lydia had said, "Wait. What did Lydia mean when she said she didn't have to take counter measures?"

"I don't know. I guess she didn't have to make up another scandal to cover up this one. One just popped up on its own."

"You think she would just create a scandal to make people forget about the real one in front of them?"

He chuckles, "Reagan, you're a PR person and you're asking me that question? Isn't that one of the things they teach you? Isn't it like magic? You create an illusion to distract from the original thing, making it disappear before people realize it's still there?"

"Guess I didn't get the memo."

"I mean, you were already kind of thinking about using that tactic, weren't you?"

"Was I?"

"Yeah, when you said that Louis should announce he broke up with Eleanor so that the album release news could distract people from the fact."

"True."

"See, you're brilliant and you don't even know it." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Please, don't do that." She said, unable to look him in the eyes.

"Does it embarrass you?"

"Oh, so much so," Reagan replied, attempting to loosen his grip from her waist. She was starting to feel a tad self-conscious, noticing that Harry was straining to wrap his arms completely around her because her waist was just too thick.

He wouldn't give though, still holding on tightly, "Well now. Am I dropping you off at home or are you coming over to mine?"

"I'm not going to your place, Harry." She replied firmly.

He smiled, "Soon enough."

"Right."

"Hey, if we've gotten this far..."

"It's the farthest you're going to get." She said, unwrapping herself from his grasp and grabbing her bag off her desk.

He smirked, "I'm very persuasive when I want to be."

"I'm very violent when I need to be." She said as she walked towards the door.

"Hmmm." He said walking behind her, "Is that a threat or a promise, because I like my girls a little feisty."

She sighed, turning to face him, "Don't push your luck, Styles."

Harry lifted his hands, "Wouldn't dream of messing this up."

"Good answer."


	32. Chapter 32

Things were different, to say the least. Reagan was different, Harry was different, the entire fucking world was different. Reagan was starting to believe it was a hoax, that there was no way that so much could change by giving in to her feelings, but it had. She knew it was stupid to think the world seemed a little better, a little brighter, a little happier since she had started kind of going out with Harry, but it did. As much as she hated to admit it, it really did.

As she sat up in her bed on a peaceful Saturday morning, she counted down the minutes until Kennedy would burst into her room, asking her what she should wear when she met Louis and the rest of the boys. So until the very expected interruption, she decided to reflect back on the past couple of days.

She found it funny how you kind of replay those moments, those really defining moments you never thought would ever happen in a million years. She saw Harry's face up close, every blemish, every little mark, on repeat in her mind. She could feel his touch upon her skin and lips upon hers and with every passing second, she just buried herself further and further under her covers.

Of course, every part of her was screaming it was too good to be true, of course, she could see every tweet wrote about her, every blog post, every comment in the back of her head in bright bold letters. She knew what she looked like, she knew who she was, and she knew she was nothing like those girls that used to be linked to Harry. But she was starting to wonder if it mattered. After all, Harry was crazy about her. Not as crazy as she was about him, but she would never admit it. In fact, she would probably never show it. That's just who she was. But the fact that she was starting to wonder if everyone else's opinion mattered was huge. She didn't quite comprehend it yet, but she was slowly starting to make a little progress on her war on her self-image. Sure, it was because of Harry, but did it matter? The fact that she was slowly starting to realize that maybe there were some redeeming qualities in her was a good thing after all, wasn't it?

She rolled around in her bed, trying to get comfortable. She wanted to go for a run, but her mother had a strict 'no weekend runs' policy in order to keep them sane. She did need the day off from exercising, but she also needed it to keep her mind off of everything that was going on.

Reagan sighed as she finally got comfortable again. She looked at her ceiling, wondering if Harry thought about her as much as she thought about him. It was a self-centered thought, but a valid one. She wondered what it was that had made Harry fall for her, if even really had. She knew he liked her, but she lived with the crippling fear that one day he would wake up and realize that he could do much better. That he deserved much better. And usually, when she got to those thoughts, that's when she started to see that maybe she was being a little too harsh on herself. That Harry liked her and for now, maybe that's all that should matter. As long as they were careful that things could totally be fine, at least, she hoped so.

"TODAY IS THE DAY!"

Reagan jumped from her bed, even though she had been awaiting this, she was still taken by surprise when Kennedy slammed open her door and marched into her room with five hangers of outfits.

"Good morning to you too," Reagan said sleepily.

"What should I wear?" Kennedy asked, climbing onto Reagan's bed with all the clothing in her hands.

"Clothes."

"I'm serious."

"Me too. Those are important."

Kennedy pouted, "Come on Rae," She shook Reagan's arm, "Please help me?"

"Are you trying to impress Louis?"

"Duh."

"Then no."

"What!? Why!?"

"You're eighteen."

"So?"

"He's twenty-three."

"And?"

"No. No way. I do not in any way want to be responsible for that."

"Hey, you're the one going out with Harry."

"He's my age, and he's probably one of the more stable of the group."

"Really, you're going to go with that argument? So Louis smokes pot, so what?"

"I meant emotionally. But the pot thing isn't going to go over well with mom and dad."

"Emotionally?"

"He's just going through a lot right now, Kenz. I know you think you love him, but I think that's kind of the problem."

"What?" Kennedy asked, clearly confused.

"I mean, we fall in love with these boys without even knowing them. We put them on a pedestal and think they act a certain way and talk a certain way and makeup who they are in our heads, and sometimes they're nothing like that."

"Was that how it was with Harry?"

"No, he's about as stupid as I thought he was."

They both laughed, but once it subsided Reagan sat up and looked at Kennedy, "Look. You don't know him. I know you think you do, but that's the person that world wants you to think he is."

"Yeah?"

Reagan nodded, "Who he actually is you'll only find out if you take the time to know him. Be his friend, Kenz. They all need that more than anything. Plus, you're way too young to be going out with celebrities, please spare me the stress."

Kennedy smiled, "That's pretty insightful."

"I know, way too insightful for seven am."

"But, I like how you've gotten to know them that well. It gives me high hopes."

"High hope for what?"

"For you."

Reagan stared blankly at her sister, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You used to just kind of float around in the world, you know? Never really had friends, never really were held down in one place. I like this Reagan, you're so aware and so in touch, and you care. You actually really care about something."

"You were so little when all that happened back then, how do you even remember?"

"You think I didn't know how you felt? We all did. It wasn't just a dark time for you, it was for all of us."

It had been so long ago that it had happened, but its effects still lingered. High school wasn't easy for anyone, Reagan knew that, but it had been so hard on her. She blamed it on her weight, though that getting thin meant getting friends. So she stopped eating. She stopped eating and she started obsessively weighing herself. She started losing weight and gaining anxiety and worrying her family. She hated herself more than ever at one point, even as she began losing the most weight she had ever lost in her entire life. She dwindled down to 140 from 200 and saw her reflection never changed. She could have lost a hundred pounds and it wouldn't have mattered, that's how bad it was.

"I'm sorry," Reagan said, intertwining her hand in Kennedy's.

"You don't have to say you're sorry. I just want you to live, Rae."

"You know," Reagan began, looking at one of the shirts Kennedy had brought into her room, "I'm pretty sure Louis is quite partial to stripes."

Kennedy's face brightened, "You mean, like the new striped dress I got last week."

"And I'm really positive that dress will go really well with the white Vans mom got you, you know the same ones Louis practically lives in."

"Oh my god! You're a genius!" Kennedy said wrapping her arms around Reagan, giving her a quick squeeze, and jumping off her bed to run back to her room.

Reagan simply smiled as she got out of bed. She had always hated when people told her, 'Things will get better', absolutely hated the phrase. But as she heard the boys' new album at full volume coming from Kennedy's room, where no doubt her sister was excitedly getting ready, she couldn't help but think that they were. That she liked a boy who like her for who she was, that she had a sister like Kennedy and a life like hers. That maybe things did get better and maybe when they get bad, she shouldn't lose hope.

"No control! No controooooool!" Kennedy yelled down the hallway.

Reagan laughed, humming the lyrics to herself as she picked out her own clothes for the day. Knowing that yes, things most certainly do get better.


	33. Chapter 33

As Harry drove that morning, he started singing along to some pop song on the radio. He rolled the windows down and took in the air, he smiled as he passed by all the familiar places that started to look new again. He was convinced that this was the happiest he had been in a very, very long time. He knew that this type of happiness was fleeting, that he had to relish in it as much as he could. And he was, all he was thinking about was Reagan. He couldn't help himself, he was just so astoundingly happy. Harry was such an obvious person too, unable to hide his emotions well. There had been a permanent smile etched upon his face since the moment Reagan had planted that kiss on his cheek, and it had yet to fade. It looked like he was either extremely high or extremely stupid. Louis would say both, no doubt.

Yet as he reached Reagan's house he could feel his heart racing again and the smile got bigger and all he could feel were butterflies in the very pit of his stomach. He felt silly, but at the same time, he felt so alive. It had been such an incredibly long time since he had felt anything at all for another person. He had been numbed so much by his career, that he forgot what this feeling felt like. He felt like himself again, like the guy he used to be before he had to change so much. He felt fucking alive again like he was a person. He didn't want to ever forget what that felt like again.

By the time he pulled up to the gates and was about to get out to ring the bell, the metal clanged, and magically he was allowed in. He figured that it had to have been Kennedy, for had it been Reagan she would most certainly have made him wait outside. And that was okay, he liked it that way. He liked that nothing had to change between them, that she didn't see him as a celebrity but as an annoying boy who she just happened to fancy.

"Harry!"

He looked to see Kennedy frantically running down the driveway. He couldn't help but notice her wearing shoes very similar to Louis'. It made him chuckle as he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car.

"Hello, Kennedy." He said, wrapping his arms around the tall, slight brunette.

She hugged him back, too tightly, "Hi! I've been waiting for you all morning."

"It's only seven-thirty."

"I've been up since four." She muttered.

Harry laughed, "What about your sister?"

Kennedy nodded towards the door where Reagan was coming out, holding her purse. She was dressed in something Harry had yet to see, a tight sundress, and he had to admit it drove him a bit mad.

"Good morning, sunshine," Harry said, waving towards Reagan.

She rolled her eyes and shut the door.

Kennedy shrugged, "Not a morning person."

"Or an afternoon person."

"Maybe just...not a person?" Kennedy pondered.

"Would explain a lot," Harry responded.

"Excuse me?" Reagan asked, standing before them.

Harry smiled, opening his arms to embrace her, "Nothing, love." He attempted to kiss her on the cheek, but Reagan just wasn't having it in front of her little sister.

Kennedy though, albeit distracted, was not blind. Reagan could deny it as much as she wanted to but Kennedy knew that something was going on between her sister and Harry.

Harry though, still happy as ever, turned to Kennedy and asked, "You ready to go?"

"Yes!" Kennedy responded unabashedly, not even waiting for Harry to open the car door. Instead, she simply jumped into the backseat before either Harry or Reagan even opened the door.

"She's a little excited," Reagan said, buckling her seat belt.

"I figured," Harry said, starting the car. He turned to look at Reagan, that fucking smile never leaving his face as she was oblivious to his stare. She didn't feel his gaze upon her since she was watching through the rearview mirror as Kennedy bounced on her seat, her eyes excitedly taking everything in. Kennedy may have been eighteen, but Reagan swore at that moment that her little sister was fourteen again, about to see the boys in concert for the first time. And it felt good to be able to share something like that with her baby sister after such a long time.

"So..." Kennedy began when they were almost at the studio.

"Hmmm?" Harry asked.

"Have you two boned yet, or what?"

Reagan's neck almost snapped, that's how quickly she turned to look at her sister, "Kennedy!" So much for feeling good about sharing something with her sister.

"What?"

Harry laughed, he just laughed loudly. Remembering the shit his own older sister put him through, thanking God for not giving him a younger one too. He wouldn't have been able to keep up.

Kennedy looked from Harry to Reagan, the question still in her eyes, "You guys still haven't answered me..."

"And you're not getting one." Reagan retorted.

"What, so are you a thing or not? Can I at least know that?"

Reagan stayed quiet, it didn't offend Harry in the least though. He knew that Reagan was reluctant to say anything for very valid reasons. Even though she had kissed him—quite a lot—it didn't mean that she was going to suddenly admit that she loved him and wanted to be with him. He may have been a tad delusional, but he was a very practical man.

Yet, Reagan surprised him by responding, "We kind of are, I guess."

Kennedy smiled, nodding slowly, "Yeah, I kind of thought so."

And suddenly that stupid, idiotic smile that Harry had on her face spread wider. Yep, he knew he would be looking like a fool for as long as he were beside Reagan, and he was perfectly and blissfully fine with the notion. He wanted nothing more than to be this happy for the rest of his days.

—✴—

Reagan knew that she could confide in Kennedy, at least that now she could. The whole Taylor Swift thing that happened the year before hadn't been one of Kennedy's best moments, but she lived and learned, and finally gained Reagan's trust back. But the simple act of admitting that maybe she and Harry were possibly kind of a thing was huge. Reagan knew something had to have been wrong with her. She didn't deny it, didn't even try to downplay it. She thought it actually felt kind of good to say that they were kind of a thing. Now, what they were? She wasn't quite sure. They were in that weird gray 'We're not friends but I'm not ready to commit to this idiot who thinks their child could actually be named kale' area. She liked him, that was for sure. She liked kissing him, and as much as she hated admitting it, she loved spending time with him. In fact, it was getting to the point where she was kind of starting to let her guard down.

"We're here," Harry said, turning off the car.

Kennedy didn't move though. She just kind of twiddled her thumbs and avoided both Harry and Reagan's stare.

"What, suddenly you don't wanna go?" Reagan asked, befuddled.

"I just..."

"Just what?"

"It's Louis fucking Tomlinson! What if he's completely different from what I expected? He's a millionaire, he has thousands of girls to choose from, he has millions of fans, and god, he's just so different from me. What could we possibly have in common? What if he doesn't like me? What if I don't like him? I mean...that's probably the scariest thing, isn't it? To have this preconceived notion of someone in your head and they turn out to be completely and totally different. You know, like you were saying this morning Rae, I've only known him to be how I imagined him. What if who he actually is...doesn't compare? I mean he's famous...you know?"

"Kennedy." Harry said, turning around to face her, "Don't tell me you're scared of famous people too."

"Too?"

"Your sister also had a similar conundrum the day we met, didn't you, Rae?"

Reagan rolled her eyes.

"You know what I told her?"

"What?"

"The guys are just guys. Everyone just happens to think they know us. Famous is just a label, you shouldn't let it get to your head like that."

"Just a label?"

"That's all it is."

Kennedy nodded, thinking a bit about what Harry said.

"And you know what, Kennedy? Louis is one of my best mates. He's an arse sometimes, but he's a hell of a good guy. I promise, whatever you think he's like, he'll probably be ten times better."

"That's a pretty big fucking promise," Kennedy responded, arms crossed.

"I swear my life on that statement. I'd say it about any of the boys."

Kennedy smiled, "You're a good guy, Harry. You know, people don't give you enough credit."

"For what?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I guess you're just not what people describe you as. You're not as dimwitted, you know?"

"I beg to differ," Reagan said with a smirk.

"People think I'm dimwitted?" Harry pouted.

Reagan laughed, "I've only been implying that since I met you."

"Yeah, but you say it out of love."

"I don't love you."

"You almost do."

"Not the time." She responded, turning to look at Kennedy with a beaming smile on her face, "Hey, Kenz?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we gonna do this?"

Kennedy nodded, "Yeah, I guess we are. But...can I just say one thing?"

"What?"

"Can you please just be a thing already? I can see how much you like each other, and like the sexual tension is pretty high in here."

"Get out of the car," Reagan said pointedly.

"What, are you gonna make out?"

"OUT!"

Kennedy laughed loudly, jumping out of the backseat. Harry just turned to look at Reagan, the dopey look still on his face.

"She a good kid." He nodded.

"When she's not being a pain in my ass..."

"You ever really look at her like she's almost an adult?" He asked, grabbing his things.

"No, she's still a baby to me, you know?"

"Yeah, I'm still a baby to Gemma." He said, referring to his older sister.

Kennedy knocked on the window obnoxiously, "Let's go! I'm gonna chicken out!"

Harry laughed, "Damn. Right when I was going to make a move."

"What?" Reagan asked pointedly.

"Oh...were we not going to make out?" He asked rather disappointedly.

"Get out. Get out of the car now." She said in a very serious tone.

"But...but this is my car."

"Out!"

Harry jumped out as Reagan finished collecting her things and finally met up with her sister and Harry. As they got into the elevator and pressed 22, Reagan could almost feel how Kennedy's body hummed in a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

"You ready?" Harry asked Kennedy.

The elevator doors opened and before they stepped off Kennedy mumbled, "As I'll ever be."

And jeez, it was only mere weeks ago but a wave of nostalgia hit Reagan like nothing else she had ever felt. All she could remember was running down the hall away from Harry, hitting him with that steel door, and they look upon his face when he had laid eyes on her that first time. And it made her realize...that first time he had looked at her, like really actually looked at her, he had almost the same goofy look on his face. She had written it off to having been knocked out by the door, but now she was starting to wonder if he had known all along that they were going to end up being together.

"Reagan Amelia Bailey," Louis called from behind them as they walked down the hall.

They all stopped before reaching the studio door and turned to look behind them, only to see Louis, all endearingly scruffy with a steaming mug firmly in his grasp.

"What I don't get the full name treatment anymore?" Harry asked.

"Harold. Please." He turned to look at Kennedy and smiled, "Who's this then?"

"This is my sister Kennedy."

"Wait...like...Reagan and Kennedy? Like the bloody presidents?"

Reagan sighed.

"That's beautiful. Fucking amazing." Louis said walking closer to them. He stood before Kennedy and smiled brightly, "Nice of you to stop by, love. Sure all the lads would like to meet you as well."

"Y-Yeah."

"Come on then." He said nodding towards the door.

Kennedy turned to look at Reagan uncertainly, but Reagan only nudged her onward.

Harry smiled as he walked next to Reagan, and all he could think was how happy was. He knew how idiotic he might have looked, but all he could keep thinking when he smiled was how things used to be so incredibly meh, and now they were bright and great and life was worth participating in again.

"Harold? Reagan?" Louis called, leaning against the door, "You coming in or what?"

"Yeah mate, right behind you."

Harry held open the door for Reagan, watching the scene unfold before him. Hoping that this happiness wouldn't be ripped away from him again.


	34. Chapter 34

It was a rare sight seeing all the boys so incredibly joyous and rowdy within the confines of the small studio. Harry had yet to see anything like it in the past three years, especially so frequently. It had just gotten so incredibly serious after they had gotten big in the US, and it was work, work, work all the bloody time. He knew that they needed to, that they had to, but it didn't mean that he liked it by any means. But ever since Reagan began working with them, the mood in the studio just kind of shifted. Of course, that didn't mean it was fun all the time, but days like today really showed how much things had changed.

"Okay, but this shower of cunts were actually chasing me down the fucking street-" Niall said, explaining what had just happened a few days ago. He had nearly escaped being mobbed by a group of teenage girls and lived to tell Kennedy the tale.

"I told you not to call girls that," Liam said, shaking his head.

"But they were a fucking shower of cunts! One of them tried to take my hat!"

"That's because that hat is horrid." Reagan quipped from her desk.

"It is pretty terrible." Kennedy shrugged.

Niall furrowed his brow, "I didn't ask if it was. I like my hat." He said, touching the brim of it protectively.

Kennedy laughed and the rest of the boys tittered, they had already spent too many days trying not to convince Niall not to wear the ridiculous hat that made him look like a middle aged golfer. 

"Maybe they wouldn't attack you if you didn't wear the hat, huh mate?" Louis tried.

"Really? Yes, the fucking attack me because of my hat."

"Hey, you should see the stuff people say about that hat on Tumblr." Kennedy began, instantly regretting saying anything at all.

"You have a Tumblr?" Louis asked.

"Yeah."

He smiled widely, "So do we."

"No, you don't!"

He nodded, "How do you think we keep up with you lot? Gotta do it somehow."

Louis walked across the room to get his laptop, and came back to turn it on and show Kennedy the account they had made long ago.

Kennedy gawked, just plainly gawked at the screen as he scrolled through the account's dashboard to look at all the current posts about them.

"So...you've seen almost everything that fans write about you?"

"You all need Jesus." Niall said with a smirk as he walked over to look at the computer over Louis' shoulder, "The things we see on there some days, honestly."

"You guys actually have a Tumblr?" Reagan asked from across the room.

"Yeah, we made it when people kept saying things we didn't quite understand on Twitter. Have to keep up on the times, love." Liam said, still sitting comfortably upon the couch with his notebook on his lap.

"Are all celebrities this narcissistic?"

"Excuse you," Louis said turning to look at her.

"What? Seriously, you guys made an account to see all the things that your fans say about you. I thought that was one of the things you weren't supposed to do. Doesn't that, like, lower your self-esteem and stuff?"

Louis shrugged, "A lot of these things are just funny. After a while, things don't get under your skin a lot."

"Yeah?"

He nodded, "So somebody says shit about us, so what. At least I get to laugh at some post some fan made about Niall's ugly ass hat."

"Hey!" Niall said, punching Louis in the arm.

Louis laughed, as did the rest of the boys and Reagan, but Kennedy stood there looking worried.

Louis turned to look at her, "Wait, you have a Tumblr, don't you."

Kennedy's eyes went wide, "N-No. I don't."

"Yes, you do, or you wouldn't have said anything."

Kennedy turned red, "No, no..."

"Oh come on now, we're all practically family here. You can show us your Tumblr."

"No, I'd really rather not."

Reagan decided to stay out of that particular conversation and went back to work. Harry, being abnormally quiet, just watched the scene unfold. He loved observing the room when it had such a positive vibe.

"Oh, come on Kennedy. I'm sure we'd have a laugh."

"At my expense?"

"Wouldn't it be at ours?" Niall asked.

She shrugged, "I don't really have a blog. I just keep it casually, you know."

"Right." Louis nodded.

"Fine," Kennedy said, leaning over Louis to type in her username in the blue search box.

"Chicken in Chile? That's your username?" Louis said, bursting out laughing.

Kennedy was so red, Reagan wasn't sure whether to check on her or not. She'd never seen her sister turn that particular color.

He clicked a particular post and read it out loud, "I fucking hate Louis he is so tiny like who is that small? And pretty? Evil people. Evil people are that small and pretty." He laughed loudly, the rest of the boys chuckling and Kennedy tried her best to compose herself. Louis quickly realized how much he had embarrassed her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You know, I love this. I do. I love that you can say this kind of shit and still show it to me. That takes balls. You're an ace girl, you know that?"

Kennedy looked away with a smiled upon her face.

"No, but really, can you show me more of these posts. They're bloody hilarious."

The conversation mostly went like the rest of the day Kennedy spent in the studio. Louis and Kennedy went through Tumblr, laughing out loud at most of the things she showed him. The rest of the boys working on one thing or another, snickering at what they overheard. The boys treated Kennedy as if they already knew her as if she was just kind of an extension of Reagan. It made Kennedy feel at home, obviously. Especially the fact that Louis really took to her. Harry guessed it was because he missed his siblings, his closest sister Lottie was only a year younger than Kennedy after all. Maybe he saw a little of his sister in her.

As the day came to end a tad earlier than the boys were accustomed to, Lydia came over to check in with the boys on their current plans for their breaks from the studio. As the month was coming to an end, the boys were finally going to be free to have a few weeks off before the next leg of their tour started. They had gotten a lot done in the last few weeks, recorded a few tracks, wrote a few new ones. Thus, Lydia had no problem letting them relax for a while, as long as they checked in with her as to where they would be.

The boys mostly planned to go back to England, Liam missing his girlfriend Sophia and his parents, Louis missing his mum and siblings, and Niall just going along to watch some sport matches and eventually head back to Ireland to see his own family. Harry though, of course, had no idea what he was going to do with his time. He planned on visiting Gemma and his mum eventually, but he knew that he was probably just going to stay in LA as he always did. After all, now he kind of had an excuse to.

He felt a new kind of calm wash over him. He had somewhere to be, someone to be with. It was an amazing feeling.

"Harry?" Lydia asked, after talking to all the boys, "You planning on staying here again?"

He nodded, feeling Reagan's stare upon him, even as she spoke quietly to Kennedy, "Yeah. Might go back to see my mum a few days, but I'll be here in LA. Doesn't feel like home anywhere else."

She nodded, used to him already staying in LA whenever the boys were on break. She didn't even have the slightest inkling that this time it was for an entirely different reason.

"Great. You boys excited for some time off?"

"Like you can't imagine," Liam said with a smile upon his face.

Usually breaks meant Harry would be constantly searching for someone to hang out with. The many families that had welcomed him in would usually call or invite him over, used to his nomadic tendencies. But this time he knew exactly who he would be spending his time with.

And he couldn't wait.


	35. Chapter 35

Reagan found it rather disconcerting that after Kennedy's visit to the studio, Louis and her little sister spent quite a while texting back and forth throughout the day. As a protective older sister she wanted to tell Louis to back off, but as his friend, she knew better than to think that he would take it any further than a friendship. She knew that, as Harry explained for the fiftieth time, Louis' sister was Kennedy's age. That Louis' intentions with her sister were not at all something gross, that he wasn't hitting on her or anything of the sort. But he did miss Lottie and seeing as Kennedy was so much like her, he couldn't help but feel attached to her.

As it was Reagan also knew that she couldn't criticize Kennedy much either. Kennedy, it seemed had snapped out of believing she was "in love" with Louis. And Kennedy also didn't have many friends, so Reagan tried to understand why she had become so close to Louis. She didn't want to like the fact, but she knew she had to understand it.

"You still worried about Kennedy?" Harry asked as they drove home.

"A week straight. They've been texting each other non-stop for a week straight."

"Wouldn't it be two since technically they exchanged numbers the day she came to the studio?"

"You're really not helping."

"I already told you nothing's going to happen between them, Rae. Why are you so worried?"

"Because."

"Because?"

"She's my little sister. I have to be."

"Look." Harry said ironically because he was unable to turn to look at her since he was driving, "Louis isn't looking for any kind of relationship right now. He just broke up with Eleanor not too long ago, I sincerely doubt he wants to date anyone for a while. Now, with that I'm not implying he would ever date Kennedy, because he wouldn't, he knows better. So I think it would just be better if you stop thinking about it, okay love?"

"He's going away to England anyway next week right?"

"Yeah, and he's staying there almost the entirety of our month off."

"Okay." She said, realizing she had to let it go and be less overprotective. "I guess you're right."

"Besides, we have other things to think about."

"Like what?"

He smiled, "We have an entire month together, and we have yet to go on a real date."

"Oh."

"Yeah. That's right. Maybe we should think about what we want to do in that month?"

"Well, we can't really be seen in public together," Reagan said.

"Are you implying we should just kind of going into hiding? Maybe you can just stay with me for the month."

"Right."

"I'm serious."

"Yeah, so am I."

Harry pouted, "Oh come on. So you're never going to come over to my house?"

"I never said that..."

"So you will?"

"I don't know!"

"It's a simple yes or no question, Rae."

"I just...I don't know if I'm ready for that..."

"For what?"

She sighed, "For...being...I don't know. Alone with you?"

"We don't," He cleared his throat, "Have to do anything. That's not why I'm with you. Well, it's not the only reason."

"Do we really not have to do anything yet, or are you just saying that to lure me to your house just so you can make your move?"

"Do my moves really work?"

"Good point."

Harry pouted of course but knew Reagan was joking. Or at least, wanted to believe she was. The thing was that of course, he thought about having Reagan alone with him. Of course, he wanted to do more than just kiss her. But he also knew that he couldn't push her. Just as she came to decide that they could be together, she would come to decide when she would want to be alone with him. And he knew much better than to try to pressure her. So that's when his bright idea hit him.

"Why don't we go on a road trip?" He said, a smile growing upon his face.

"A road trip?"

"Yeah. We could go...I don't know, but I know there are so many places I've never gotten to see here in the states."

"Didn't I just say we shouldn't be seen together in public?"

"I can wear a disguise."

"Right."

"Or I can just say you're my new assistant."

"Wait...that's a demotion isn't it?"

He rolled his eyes, "Many would consider it a promotion."

"From what?"

Harry shook his head, "Anyway. You know I've been dying to try that burger you were talking about."

"Flintridge Proper?"

"That's the one."

"What about your juicing?"

"I told you I only do it when I need to detoxify my body. Which I'll probably do after I eat three of those burgers."

"Three? That's ambitious, most people can't even finish one."

"Oh ye of little faith."

Reagan smiled, "When do you want to go?"

"So you want to go?"

"We can go. But you'll have to wear a disguise."

"Miley Cyrus or one of the guys from Hanson?"

"You're kidding right?"

As they approached Reagan's house Harry parked and turned to look at her, "You're totally right."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I must be mad. Of course, I'll go as Miley. I can put my hair up in those bloody space bun things now."

Reagan simply opened the car door and stepped out, without as much as a goodbye.

"Hey!" He yelled through the car window, "What in the hell? No goodbye?"

"I cross the line at you cross-dressing." She said, without even turning back to look at him.

"It's not like I haven't done it before, and besides, it's not cross-dressing. I'll be wearing that lovely orange thong with the large foam finger."

"You're not helping yourself." She said walking towards the gate, it wasn't till she reached it that she turned around and waved, "See you tomorrow."

"Do you want to choose my disguise?" He tried.

"We will talk tomorrow. I deserve at least eight hours without your craziness."

Harry pouted, "You know, girlfriends don't typically speak to their boyfriends that way."

"I thought we didn't have a label." She said, her heart beating rapidly.

He shrugged and smiled, "I know what we are. Don't you?"

"I guess so."

As she went to open the gate, she heard his car start once more. He yelled through the window before driving away, "Road trip! Next week! Prepare yourself!"

She shook her head, it was always something with that boy.


	36. Chapter 36

Reagan wasn't quite sure why something felt off. It happened the moment she stepped into the studio the last morning before the boys were to go on their break. Perhaps it was because she hadn't carpooled with Harry that morning since his car was in the shop and she sure as hell wasn't about to come into work on the back of his ridiculous motorcycle. She just knew he was going to make her wear his glittery helmet and she just wasn't going to have it. But then again the actual reason why Reagan had that weird feeling was probably due to the fact that tomorrow morning she and Harry were leaving on their "road trip". She knew that they wouldn't get to see as much as Harry would like, but they would be driving around places neither of them had seen and would of course get the amazing burgers at Flintridge Proper. Reagan figured that she would most likely have to eat in front of Harry, given that they would be together for perhaps longer than 24 hours. She didn't know how to feel about it quite yet, didn't even know if she was ready to take that step. But she had been feeling more and more comfortable with Harry, and just the other day even ate her lunch with him. She figured it would all just take baby steps. So she walked into the studio alone that morning, with the weirdest feeling in the pit of her stomach, and plastered on a smile.

Louis had been the first to arrive, eager to get the day over with. He had a flight leaving LAX at 9 pm heading towards London and he was just too excited to sleep. He hadn't done anything non-one direction related in what felt like forever. He knew he was going to miss the lads though, as he always did when they left on an extended break. The distance only made them stronger though.

"Morning Reagan," Louis said as he turned to look at her coming through the door.

"Hey, Lou." She said, putting down her purse.

"You excited for some time off?" He said, the smile on his face the biggest Reagan had ever seen it. There was a steaming mug of tea on his desk, per usual, and Reagan swore she could smell the English Tea blend across the room.

"With you boys? There's never any time off."

"Ouch. Harsh."

"Try not to get into much trouble at home."

"Just gonna play some football and spend time with the family, Reagan."

"Yeah, well, knowing you four, something's going to happen. It always does."

"Well, can't argue with you there."

"Even though it's inevitable that the lot of you get in trouble, can you please, PLEASE try to avoid it for me?"

Louis smirks, "I don't know, that's asking a lot."

"Do you leave this office wondering how exactly you could make my life more difficult?"

"No, we leave that job to Harry."

Reagan sighed as Louis laughed loudly. He swiveled his chair around to face her, and held his steaming mug in his hand, "No, but really. How are you two doing?"

"As in?"

"As in, he told me he plans on going to eat burgers with you. That's massive."

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen what he eats?"

Reagan laughed, "Yeah. I guess it kind of is a big deal." She figured that if Harry was going out of his way to eat something that obviously seemed to mean a lot to her, than maybe she should try too. She knew it would be hard, and that the anxiety could kill her, but she wanted to try nonetheless.

"When we come back to LA I expect to be hearing great stories about your road trip."

"Ah yes, when you come back you'll all have your work cut out for you. You have the James Corden show and that Ad for your new perfume to shoot."

"And a bunch of other bullshit too, I bet."

"Yeah, but at least you get another mini-break before the tour resumes," Reagan said, trying to make Louis see the brighter side of things.

He shrugged, "At least you'll be with us on tour."

"Yeah." She paused for a second and processed what Louis had just said. She nearly jumped out of her seat,"WAIT. What!?"

"...Aren't you...going on tour with us?"

"Why!?"

"Our PR person is supposed to go with us. The quickest way to resolve any bumps in the road we might encounter."

"But, I'm not even really your PR person! I'm a fucking intern."

He looked at her smugly, "We both know you are not just an intern."

"I can't do this."

"What? Why?"

"How can I possibly go on tour with you guys! I start school again in August! I have a fucking life here. This is not in my job description."

"When was your internship supposed to be over?"

"By the drop of your album."

"Then this is in your job description."

Reagan sighed loudly, "I'm not about to drop out of school to go on tour with you. This isn't a fucking cliche fan fiction where I magically get noticed by one of you and am invited to go on tour, I'm not going to drop everything and leave. I can't."

"Well, I would say not even for Harry, but that would sound like a line from one of those fan-fictions you mentioned."

"Do you actually read those?"

Louis shrugged and drank from his mug.

"What am I going to do?" She said, laying her head upon her desk.

"Why don't you just go on tour with us until you start school?"

"Yeah, because you can just do your job right for half the year."

"Hey, that's the standard I live by."

"Oh my god, don't even joke like that. I asked you to please not cause trouble."

"We're not halfway through the year." He winked.

Before Reagan could respond the door slammed open and in walked a furious Niall yelling at an oblivious Harry.

"First the fucking boots now the helmet!? Glitter, of all the fucking things you had to love glitter!"

Harry shrugged as he put his bag and the glittery helmet upon Reagan's desk.

"You should seriously just dunk yourself in a pool of it so you don't waste time."

Harry considered it, but replied, "it would get in my eyes."

"Seriously!?" Niall yelled, obviously at the end of his wits with Harry.

"No wait," Harry said leaning against the desk and holding up his index finger, "I could just wear goggles."

With that Niall turned away from Harry and back towards the door, "that's it, I'm done."

"You just got here, mate," Louis said with a smile.

"Fuck off," Niall replied, slamming the door behind him.

Harry turned to look at Reagan, "is the glitter really that bad."

"I hate it." She said frankly, "but you shouldn't care about that anyway."

"Yeah?"

She shrugged, "You're kind of cool the way you are...I guess."

Harry realized that was probably the closest thing to a compliment he would ever get from Reagan.

"Thanks."

She nodded.

"You ready for our trip tomorrow?"

And the moment he said that the pit of her stomach dropped, but she smiled nonetheless, "Yeah, totally."


	37. Chapter 37

Before Reagan could even begin to think about her and Harry's trip though, she kept going over and over in her mind how she was expected to go on tour with the boys. Suddenly the prospect of spending more than 24 hours alone with Harry didn't seem as scary as spending three months with him. She just couldn't do it. Not only because of school and her family but because of herself. She didn't want to be the type of girl that gave everything up for a boy. She knew that perhaps it was a part of her job description, but technically she didn't sign up for any of this. She signed up to be a band's PR intern, not to be an actual PR agent in charge of One Direction's campaign and to double as a fucking babysitter. This was not her. This wasn't who she was supposed to be. She wasn't supposed to throw it all away to go on tour with them, she wasn't supposed to have gotten this position, and maybe most of all she wasn't supposed to be with Harry. So why was it all happening to her? She didn't know, and it scared her.

"You've been awfully quiet? Thinking about your trip tomorrow?" Kennedy asks as she folds clothes into a suitcase for Reagan. Reagan had of course already packed, but Kennedy decided to go through her suitcase and approve outfits. Ultimately she ended up throwing everything out of her suitcase and began to pack new clothes that Reagan didn't even realize she had.

"No...I just—Is that a crop top!?" Reagan said, looking at a tribal print shirt Kennedy was pairing with drawstring pants.

"What? You had it in your closet."

"Yeah, in the back, because I was never going to wear it."

"Well, now you can."

"Kennedy, I'm not wearing a crop top."

Kennedy looked at her blankly, clearly not understanding, "Why?"

"Why? Maybe because the only thing that's going to cover is my boobs."

"Uhuh?" She nodded.

"Kennedy! I can't just wear half a shirt! I'm fat as fuck!"

"Rae, you're like...all curves. If you don't wear a crop top, you're not doing yourself justice."

"I'm not all curves."

"Yeah, you kinda are."

Reagan still stood firm, "I'm not wearing that."

Kennedy smiled, "But I bet Harry would love it."

"Why would Harry love it? All it would show is a muffin top."

"You call that a muffin top?"

"Yes!"

"You've lost like, what? Twelve pounds? That's a fucking lot, Rae. Show it off."

Reagan looked at the thin cotton material, knowing that she had bought it only to motivate herself to lose some weight. She didn't ever really plan on wearing it. Especially not in front of Harry. As if she wasn't self-conscious enough already.

"Look." Kennedy started, grabbing the shirt and folding it into the suitcase, "You don't have to wear it, but I'm going to pack it anyway. But just know, that if you do, it isn't going to change the way Harry thinks about you. Well...it might."

"You think so?" Reagan asked in a painstakingly sad tone.

"Yeah, he'll jump you right then and there."

"Kenz, please."

"I'm serious, Rae. You keep saying how you're so fat and so unattractive, but look at who is so incredibly into you. And god, I would kill to have you shape, I'm just a beanpole, you know? So stop saying you're fat. Fuck societal standards, you're hot and you can rock a crop top."

Reagan laughed, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask."

"Hey, Kenz?"

"Yeah?"

"Louis told me that I most likely have to go on tour with the boys when they come back from their break."

Kennedy closed the suitcase and looked up at her, "Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know."

"...Do you have a choice?"

"I would think I do."

"Well, it was only Louis that insinuated that you have to go right? Harry hasn't said anything?"

"No."

"Well, what if you don't have to go. What if Louis' just under the wrong impression or something?"

"I don't know. I think I'll just have to speak to my boss."

"You should probably do that right away."

"Yeah."

"But...would you do it?"

Reagan shook her head, "I don't think so."

"But why? You would get to spend all that time with Harry."

"Yeah, but this is my career, Kenz. I can't just take a job because I get to spend three months straight with my—" Reagan stopped, realizing that she and Harry hadn't quite decided what they were. Kennedy stifled a laugh, knowing that her sister was about to say Harry Styles was her boyfriend, but she restrained herself.

"I get it, I know." Kennedy said, calming down, "But think about it, is your career always going to be more important than every other aspect of your life?"

"Kenz, I need to finish school in order to even have a career. If I go on that tour, I'm going to be a semester behind."

"So? You have a good excuse, your job is getting you real-world experience."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Just, I guess, don't freak out about it now. You're about to go on a road trip with Harry, focus on that."

Reagan's stomach flipped, "Fuck." She muttered.

"Not looking forward to that either?"

Reagan shook her head, "No, it's not that. I just have this weird feeling that something is going to go wrong."

"Just think positive thoughts and nothing will go wrong," Kennedy said with a smile.

"If only it were that easy."


	38. Chapter 38

Reagan was a worrier. She was an anxious over-thinker who always had something to worry about. So of course she kept thinking about whether or not she would go on tour with the boys. On one hand, yeah, Kennedy was right. It would be a great experience. Working out in the real world, with a real band, getting hands-on experience would benefit her so much in the long run, even if she graduated late. But at the same time, she knew she was more inclined to take the jump and do it because she would get to spend more time with Harry. She was all for spending more time with him, as much as she hated to admit it, but what would happen when people found out what they were? Luckily, of course, Lydia was able to stop talk about her in the media. Then again, she would have to thank Louis for that since he distracted everyone from the fact that she and Harry had run down a street holding hands.

The fans of course spoke online of how they totally could be dating, but they doubted it since Harry's regular type was more model-y and ditsy. But what happened when news really broke, when there was concrete proof and evidence that they were together, that they were actually a thing? That's probably what scared her the most. Everyone would know who she was, just like they knew Sophia and Eleanor, just like they know almost every normal girl that dated one of the boys. Everyone would know her as Harry's girlfriend, as his current flame, or scarily enough, his ex when and if they ever stopped seeing each other. She didn't know if she could deal with that. She wanted to make her own name, not be defined by someone else.

And perhaps the relief she felt at the fact that the news of Harry possibly having a new flame kind of just blew over didn't mean that she couldn't deal with the attention, it's that she didn't want to. And it wasn't because she didn't think Harry wasn't worth it, it was just that she kind of just valued herself more. She wanted to not only be Harry's new girlfriend, but a talented PR agent, an intelligent woman. She knew that there were so many other ways to define herself, but if she were to take this job and her cover was blown, no one would ever know that.

For one day though, she knew that she had to put all of this out of her mind. She watched quietly as Harry drove, his large hands gripping the steering wheel as he hummed along to some song on the radio. He had arrived at her house all chipper with his sunshiny smile and radiant personality and charmed the pants off her mother and sister, once again. Reagan of course attempted to look fed up with the lovefest between her family and Harry, but she wasn't, she found it quite endearing.

Harry though had been rather quiet for being, well, Harry. He simply turned on the radio, sat back comfortably, and drove. Not what Reagan had expected at all.

"So..." She started, trying to initiate the conversation for once.

Harry though had been quiet for a completely understandable reason. See, when he was comfortable with someone he didn't feel the need to talk, to fill the silence. He was happy, perhaps even beyond that. He didn't have to talk, didn't feel the need to.

"Yes?" He said almost laughingly, knowing that he was bothering Reagan with his seemingly out of character silence.

"Nice scenery."

"Cows?"

"I like cows." She said as they drove past probably the fifth dairy farm. Why they had chosen the long route, she didn't know. She knew it was all just going to be cows and cows, but Harry couldn't be persuaded otherwise.

"I think everyone likes cows."

"I think you're thinking of milk."

He smirks, "What about people who are lactose intolerant?"

"Then they wouldn't like milk or cows much, would they?" Reagan says, watching the farm roll by her passenger window.

Harry chuckled before saying, "I like cows too."

Reagan rolled her eyes, smiling nonetheless. She still didn't realize that the silence didn't need to be filled, that it could just kind of exist between them. She thought that maybe she had done something wrong, that maybe Louis had already told Harry how apprehensive she was about going on tour with them. And that's when the panic set in. She was just so sure that this was Harry's way of punishing her. That he purposely wasn't talking to her because he was mad or disappointed, and it scared her. She really thought that she had to have done something wrong. Again, Reagan had never been in a relationship, she had never known a comfortable silence, especially from such a talkative guy like Harry. She thought that maybe she should just kind of feel out where she and Harry stood, and whether it was because of her apprehension towards leaving why he wasn't talking.

"So, one whole month before you go back on tour."

"Yeah, but we still have all those gigs before that."

"But at least you kind get to stay in one single place, no?"

"I guess, I mean, things like talk shows and filming are fun and all, but they don't let me talk much."

"I wonder why that is." She mumbled.

He turned to look at her sharply and then went back to look ahead at the road, "Anyway," He said pointedly, "You get a month off too."

"And here I am, starting it off still kind of stuck at my job."

"I'm a job?"

"You're certainly work."

"Does that mean I'm problematic?"

"A lot of the time."

"I'm the problematic one?" Harry said indignantly, "How could that even be."

"No, not in general, just towards me."

"Oh, that sounds correct, actually." He said with a smirk upon his face.

"At least after this month, I'll be done dealing with the lot of you for a while." She said, testing out the waters. She knew that saying this would either incur one of two reactions. One: Harry would be confused, obviously expecting that Reagan would be coming on tour with them, therefore her statement made absolutely no sense. Or two: She wasn't actually expected to come on tour with the boys and Louis just misunderstood something Lydia said. Harry would just laugh it off and probably tell her how he'd facetime her or skype her every day just so she could see how problematic he actually was. She was praying for the latter.

"After this month?" He started, "Don't you mean after the tour ends?"

Needless to say, Harry's reaction was not the latter. It was the first one and fuck, Reagan had no idea how to respond to him now.


	39. Chapter 39

There was silence, just a tiny one, as Reagan tried to speak. All she kept thinking though was that Louis wasn't wrong and that, fuck, Harry did expect her to go on tour with them. Why she had thought she wouldn't have to, she didn't exactly know, but now more than ever she just wished she had never gotten the fucking job in the first place. Reagan panicked, she panicked and she didn't know any better and she just responded, "Yeah, duh. Of course, I mean after the tour ends." She chuckled, "I just so badly want this to be over that I'm getting ahead of myself."

Harry of course laughed along too, the momentary awkwardness between them fading, "Oh, come on. Like you could stand being away from me for so long."

"It would be a blessing." She said, calming down a bit. She would deal with this mess later. She knew she would have to anyway.

"Right." He said, a smug look on his face, "You would miss me so much you wouldn't know what to do with yourself."

"Oh, please. Don't flatter yourself."

"Aren't you here with me? On your days off? Didn't we make plans to see each other all month?"

"Since when?"

"Well, it was implied."

"Why would I want to see you all month?"

"Because I'm great company and you love me." He said, not even bothering to look at her reflection.

"You're tolerable at best, and I don't love you."

"Sure."

She rolled her eyes, "So your tour ends in October right?"

"Yeah, but the promo for the album is going to be in full swing by then." He said, nodding.

"Shouldn't I be working in an office? Somewhere not on the road?"

"We're not your typical band, Rae. We record, write, and do promo on the road."

"So, I have to be on the road with you?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not." She said, obviously lying, "I just thought that maybe..."

"You wouldn't have to be?"

"Well, yeah."

Harry didn't want to sound disappointed, but he had honestly thought all along that Reagan would for sure be coming on tour with them. That's why he hadn't even mentioned it. He thought she had to of known, that Paul or Lydia would have already told her. All their staff and crew always goes on tour with them. It was just the best way to make sure that every single thing was accounted for. Reagan might even be one of the most vital parts, considering in how much trouble they had been getting into lately. She had helped resolve so many of their media problems lately, he knew that Lydia would want her to come along, no matter what. Reagan did her job incredibly well, everyone knew that. So it made him a bit uneasy that Reagan didn't want to come along. Not only because of her job but well, because of them. He wanted her to travel with them, to get used to being around his tour family, his whole life really. He just wanted her to be a part of the best and worst parts of his life, from the fame to the pressure, he wanted her there for all of it.

"Do you want to go, Rae?"

Reagan couldn't bring herself to say no. She wanted to, but at the same time, she wanted to know what it would be like to go on tour with him, to see so many new things and experience a whole different kind of life. She wanted to know what it would be like to be a real part of Harry Styles' life, so of course, she muttered, "Yeah." and tried to forget about all the repercussions.

"Good. I can't wait till we get to England."

"Why's that."

He smiled, "I'm from England."

"You don't say?"

Harry gave her a pointed look, but continued nonetheless, "It's also where my family resides."

"Ah."

"You know, the family I want you to meet?"

"What?"

"I already met your mom."

"Yeah, on accident."

"I still met her."

Reagan sighed, "It's way too soon for this, Harry."

He shrugged, "We're still friends, aren't we? Besides all the fancying each other, we're friends, right?"

"I guess."

"Well, can't you meet my family as my friend?"

For some reason though, that made her more uncomfortable than being introduced as his girlfriend. At least as his girlfriend there was a purpose for her meeting his family, but as a friend, it was just a little weird.

"Do you introduce all of your friends to your mom?"

"Just the ones I'm particularly fond of."

Reagan smirked, "We'll talk about it when the time comes."

"Yeah, I guess it's better that way."

Reagan looked down at the GPS and frowned, "Why does it feel like we're never going to get there."

"You're the one who's been there before." Harry started, "Aren't we going the right way?"

"I haven't been there in forever though," She said, grabbing the GPS and checking that Harry had inputted the right address, "And it doesn't feel like we used to see so many farms on the way there."

"What are you saying we're lost?"

Reagan's brow furrowed and she full out scowled when she looked at the address Harry had inputted, "Well, according to the GPS we're not, since you put in the wrong address."

"What!?"

"The address you put in is for a fucking dairy farm! Not Flintridge Proper!"

"So the burger is raw and unshaped." He said, trying not to panic, "Don't you like your burger rare?"

"Not if it still moos!"

He sighed, "Well, consider it an extended trip."

She shook her head, "I'll put in the right address."

Harry nodded, avoiding her glare, as the car slowed down and eventually stopped on the side of the road, "Great. Just one problem."

"What's that."

He turned and smiled nervously, "We're out of gas."


	40. Chapter 40

"Are you kidding me!? Are you seriously kidding me!?" Reagan said, getting out of the car and slamming the door. She was fuming, absolutely livid. Harry had never seen her this angry before and didn't understand why she was in the first place. This had happened to him before, on the main street in LA on a motorcycle. He was sure this situation was better because he wasn't exposed to crazed fans and Reagan was with him. Oh, also because he didn't have to wear the ridiculous glittery helmet in order to hide his identity until someone came to help them.

So he looked at Reagan and shrugged as he got out of the car and leaned against it. He watched as Reagan paced back and forth, her cell phone in his hand. He figured that maybe she just needed to calm down a bit.

"We just have to wait for someone to come get us." He said, pulling out his phone.

"Who? Who are we going to call?"

"Ghostbusters!" Harry said with a huge smirk on his face.

Reagan walked across to him and smacked him roughly on the arm, "You're not funny!"

"I think I am." He said, rubbing his arm.

Reagan sighed loudly, "Call someone, just please, call someone to pick us up."

"I will, but you need to calm down."

"I'll calm down when you tell me that someone's on their way."

Harry started texting Louis but remembered he was in London by now. So he decided on simply calling a tow truck, all they needed was gas anyway. "Yes, hi, my car's stuck. Yes, again." He said rolling his eyes, "No, all we need is gas. Yeah, the tank is full. Yes! I know how to fill a bloody tank of gas, I just forgot. Whatever, just please come as soon as you can."

Reagan stifled a laugh as Harry put down his phone, obviously annoyed at the fact that the person on the other line thought him completely incompetent.

"Why does everyone think I'm so fucking stupid?" Harry said putting his phone away. "Because I didn't finish secondary school? Or is it because I'm bloody famous?"

Reagan didn't know how to answer him. He was, after all, the only member of the group that wasn't really allowed to speak at interviews. As it was, before leaving on their break, she was given specific instructions by Lydia to prepare the questions that the boys could be asked for the James Corden interview and potential responses for them. One of those specific instructions were to make sure that Harry's responses were short, concise, and relatively easy to memorize. He was the only boy that actually had lines for an interview, and she knows that he's prepped to not say anything other than what he was given.

Now that she thought about it, she knew that it was unfair to him. She wasn't naive enough before to believe that the way the boys were represented in the media was actually the way they were. Harry's womanizing personality had followed him for so long, she knew he was much more than that. But lately, after the whole Taylor Swift mess, his personality had been toned down a lot. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when the change had happened, but she knew that at one point he just stopped talking in interviews, and when he did she would see a barrage of tweets about how slow and dumb he sounded. At one point, he was no longer the womanizer, he was the stupid one. It sucked being famous, Reagan could see that more than ever.

But when rumors start, the band's public relations people have to figure out a course of action. So of course y Harry went from womanizer to stupid, it was to deviate any rumors of him being gay. Of course, there were rumors swirling around everywhere that he and Louis were a thing, and of course, they weren't true. But the band was just starting to gain traction in the US and they couldn't risk losing face. Harry was sixteen and had never left home so he trusted whatever the team told him would be best for him. He believed that being something he was not was necessary in order to be famous. And now when he's struggling to be his own person, his team just decided to let people think he wasn't the sharpest crayon in the crayon box. It just made life easier for everyone. Everyone except Harry that is.

So Reagan felt for him, she did. She didn't want him to think he was stupid. He was silly and annoying and dumb, but he was so fucking smart and articulate. He had so much to say, but it was just that people didn't want to listen.

"I don't think you're stupid." She mumbled, walking towards him and leaning against the car with him.

"Nobody likes a liar, Rae."

"Look, I know I'm mean to you sometimes, but-"

"You do it out of love?" Harry said, his long curly hair flipping dramatically as he turned to look at her with a knowing, smug look on his face.

Reagan smiled coyly, "Whatever. I just wanted to let you know that I think you're not stupid. And if I call you that it's not because you are, it's because you're annoying the crap out of me. You're actually quite smart..."

"Actually? You're surprised that I am?"

"Well..."

He bumped her with his hip and she laughed. They took in the scenery, waiting for the tow truck to come along, wondering why they had even made the journey in the first place. Sure, Harry loved a good burger, but he hated the shitty guilty feeling he would get after eating it, and then of course the subsequent 3 days of juicing. Reagan as well had no idea why she had agreed to eating with Harry. Of all the things they could go out and do, they had chosen the one thing that neither of them felt very comfortable with.

Sure, at one point Reagan enjoyed eating. It wasn't done out of stress or necessity, it was done out of just a pure love of food. She loved eating and sharing with her friends and family. That's what food did after all, it brought people together. But then it didn't. It just made her bigger and bigger and made her more isolated. And then it was all she had. So it made sense that her relationship with food was kind of a love/hate kind of thing. She couldn't see herself chowing down on one of those huge burgers with Harry, she just couldn't. But she came along because it was Harry and it was an adventure they could take together, she could deal with the rest when the time came, couldn't she?

"Look! It's here!" Harry said excitedly, waving down the tow truck and pointing to his Range Rover. "We can finally go eat that fucking burger."

Reagan looked at him, "Are you really sure you want to eat a burger?"

"We came all the way out here didn't we?".

"I don't know." She said, smilingly, "I think I have a better idea."


	41. Chapter 41

"Huh," Harry said as he started loading grocery bags out of the back of his Range Rover. "This was a better idea than going all the way to Flintridge Proper."

"Yeah well, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to burn off the thousand or more calories you were about to down," She said grabbing a bag, only to have Harry take it from her grasp. She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway because even though she hated to admit it, she kind of loved the chivalrous side of him. No one had ever acted like that with her before, "And besides," She said, grabbing one of the lighter bags even though he made a displeased face, "it's a nice day, why not have a picnic on the beach."

Harry took in the view, the waves crashing upon the beautiful white sand and the sun shining down on them, and he felt incredibly at peace. He slid on his sunglasses and walked along the familiar trail that led to Louis' private beach. His hands were full of the bags, but he didn't mind at all. Reagan did the shopping herself, too paranoid to let Harry out of the car, so he figured the least he could do was carry the bags to where they intended to sit and eat.

It surprised Harry thought that Reagan had thought of this. As it was it felt like it was difficult for Reagan to let him in, so she totally took him by surprise when she said, "Forget the burgers, let's have a picnic. We can go to Whole Foods by the beach, buy some food, and have a picnic on the shore, right?"

Of course, he said, "Yeah, that's way better than a burger. I do love their kale smoothies."

Reagan had simply rolled her eyes and went to check on the car, but Harry felt his pulse race. For once Reagan actually took charge and decided where they were going to go. She spontaneously changed their plans, and he loved it. So of course they drove back by mid-day, stopped by Whole Foods, and then another store to buy a towel and a beach umbrella. They may have exchanged sarcastic remarks, per usual, but the vibe in the car had changed completely. The feeling between them was gradually shifting to something even more personal, more comfortable than before.

In fact, as Reagan started pulling out food from one of the paper bags as she sat upon the towel Harry had placed down on the sand, he realized that he had never told her what she wanted. And Reagan, being the anxious mess that she was, didn't want to go back and ask him. So she chose the best from what she knew about him.

"Okay," she said, nervousness flowing through her, "I got kale and chicken wraps, Thai peanut salad, hummus and pita chips, carrot sticks, your fucking kale/green goddess juice, and for dessert these cookies that are actually the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had."

He smiled, almost chuckling, making Reagan say, "What?"

"Nothing." He said, grabbing the package that the wraps were in, "It's just that..."

"What?"

"How did you know I actually like these things?"

"Well, see my approach was easy, I tried to find the most hipster things in the store."

He smirked, "Oh, really? Well, hipsters have a good taste now, don't we."

She shook her head, but turned to look at him, hoping to get some approval, "So, you're okay with what I bought?"

He bit down on the wrap and savored it before responding, purposefully making Reagan wait to hear his response, "Yeah. It's actually what I probably would've bought. Minus that peanut salad thing, that's gross."

"Says the guy who drinks leaves."

"Well if you say it like that it sounds weird."

"Because it's not weird enough to love liquefied vegetables."

"It's healthy." He pouted.

Reagan could have continued, but she didn't. Instead, she and Harry ate under their umbrella, bare feet in the warm sand, and enjoyed each other's company. It was a rarity for both of them. There was no need for talk, no need for noise. It was enough just to be around each other. Surprisingly, it didn't scare either of them. It just felt right.

They spent the afternoon like that, lazing in the sun, talking for some periods of time, and then just listening to the waves. At one point, when the sun began to set and they had been there for hours, Harry leaned up on his elbow and looked at Reagan, "You know, it's gotten better with you around."

"Yeah?" She said, avoiding his stare because even though the sun was going down she was blushing like crazy and she didn't want him to notice.

"Yeah. The lads are more relaxed, the studio has a different feel, and for the first time, it feels like we have more control over the album and everything. You even got our social media back, Rae."

"Isn't that the way things are supposed to be though?"

He nodded, "But we both know that's not how the business works."

"I guess."

He took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers, "Stop being modest, I'm serious, Rae. You're doing a good job."

"Thank you." She said, feeling his warm grip around hers and feeling her heart start to race.

He sighed and laid back, his hand still in hers, "I'm having a bit of trouble finishing this song that I've been writing."

"What's it about."

"Don't worry about that."

"Then how can I help?"

"You can't. I just wanted someone to vent to."

Reagan laughed, "I can help."

"What do you know about songwriting."

"Nothing, but I'm good at rhyming."

"What rhymes with orange?"

"Blorenge."

"That is not a word." He said sitting back up indignantly.

"Actually, Kennedy already tried this with me long ago. It is too a word, Styles. It's a mountain in Wales."

"Why would I write about a mountain in Wales?"

"Why would you write about the color orange?"

"Touche." He said, lying back down laughingly.

"So, the song?"

He closed his eyes, "You'll hear it one day."

"Like when the album comes out?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"You're such an ass." She said, unwrapping her hand from his playfully and sitting up.

"Hey now, you'll see it's worth the wait."

"Eh, I don't care anyway." She shrugged, "It's not like it has anything to do with me."

He didn't respond.

"Wait, does it?"

"N-no."

"Is that why I can't help?"

"No, you can't help because you just told me orange rhymed with Blorange."

"Whatever." She said, laying back down but not intertwining her hand with his, "If it has to do with the color orange you have a problem anyway."

He chuckled but didn't respond. It wasn't until the sun completely went down that he spoke again, "There's no one around..." The stars illuminated his face.

"So?"

He smiled, "You wanna go for a swim?"

"I didn't bring my bathing suit."

He grinned devilishly, "Neither did I."


	42. Chapter 42

Instinctively Reagan knew better than to react to Harry's ridiculous proposition. He always said and did things like this to rile her up in the first place, and she just wasn't having it today. She fucking knew better, she knew him too well. She was not going to fall victim to his shenanigans again, damn it.

"I'm not skinny dipping," Reagan said, not even bothering to get up from her comfortable position.

Harry though didn't exactly have that in mind.

"Well." He said taking off his boots and socks, "That wasn't what I was thinking."

"What were you thinking?"

He peeled off his shirt, and Reagan couldn't look away. He smirked knowing she couldn't. He wasn't a narcissist, but he knew he had a good body. Of course, he had his own trepidation, but on most days he was pretty damn pleased with himself. He took care of himself, worked out a hell of a lot, and he was going to show off his tattoos every chance he got. So of course Reagan couldn't look away, she was instinctively drawn to him. And the fact that she wasn't looking at him through a computer screen like she was accustomed to wasn't helping. She wasn't ready to see him like this yet. It terrified her a bit, but at the same time made her feel things she wasn't ready to acknowledge.

"Well, we don't have to strip completely. Just enough." He said, throwing his t-shirt onto the towel where they were sitting.

Reagan tried to look away, not wanting to make him think that she cared that he wasn't wearing a shirt."Enough for what?"

"Enough to go for a little dip."

"I don't want to go for a dip, it's only April. It's not even that warm out."

"It's almost May, and we're in LA. Come on Rae, live a little." He said, starting to unzip his pants.

She looked up and screamed, "NO! YOU ARE NOT TAKING OFF YOUR PANTS."

He looked at her, trying to hide his laugh, "That's the first time a girl has told me that. I don't quite know how to feel."

"Look, if you want to go for a swim, go for it." She said firmly.

"The water is not that cold and you don't have to take off your clothes. At least just wade on the shore?"

"Why?"

"Just your toes, come on? I'm sure you can just take off your sandals, can't you?"

She looked down at her feet and figured there couldn't be any harm, could there? She could just roll up her pants and go ankle-deep in the water while Harry could splash around all he pleased. No harm, no foul.

Reagan reluctantly pulled her shoes off and rolled her jeans up. Harry pulled her up, his warm hand in hers, and led her towards the shore. She tried not to look at him, his broad shoulders and bare tattooed chest. She peeked though, and the moment she saw the fucking butterfly tattoo on his stomach, she started giggling. She couldn't help it. She just couldn't understand him sometimes. How could the world see him in such a harsh light? He was literally the sweetest, weirdest, and the most endearing person she had ever met. He had a fucking butterfly tattoo for god's sake. How could people peg him for a womanizer? A heart breaker? A snob? She just didn't comprehend it.

"Christ, it's cold." He muttered as he stepped in first. He hadn't taken off his pants, hadn't even bothered rolling them up. He walked into the water up to his hips though and turned around to look at her. He motioned towards him and she shook her head.

"I'm not going in that deep."

"You're not even in the water."

She dipped her toe and looked up, "Yes, I am."

He walked towards her again and grabbed her hands, pulling her slowly in. She stopped when she felt her pants getting splashed though, and couldn't help but notice the moonlight shinning brightly upon them. His eyes sparkled and his hands were so warm in hers. She just kept wondering if these were one of those moments that Kennedy kept saying she was missing out on. Those spontaneous moments where everything just felt perfect, where you felt completely and totally in love with your life. Where you felt limitless, infinite, all of those feelings you should feel when you're young and in love. She had missed out on that, but maybe it wasn't that she missed out on it. Maybe it was that the right person just hadn't come along. Maybe it was now that she would start living the life Kennedy and her mother had hoped she would have.

And right as she finished her thought, she looked up at Harry. It looked as if he were going to lean in to kiss her, and somehow, she didn't feel like protesting. She wanted to live in the moment, to be young and spontaneous. And when he came in closer, she closed her eyes. He didn't brush his lips against hers though, instead, he leaned into her ear and whispered, "You're not in the water, love." And pulled her roughly deeper into the water, almost throwing her into the calm waves.

She tried to resist, but he was far stronger, no matter how scrawny he seemed compared to her. She screamed, "NO!" as he pulled her, but it only made him laugh louder.

She laughed loudly too, not even able to feign anger as she became drenched from head to toe. There they stood, under the moonlight, splashing each other in the ocean, and she couldn't even be mad at him. She couldn't even feel subconscious at the fact that her shirt became sheer and her makeup had come off. All she felt was this light feeling in her heart and the overwhelming urge to kiss Harry because, damn, he was kind of hers and she was kind of his and at that moment it all just felt overwhelmingly right.

"One day." She said as she waded over to him, strands of wet blonde hair plastered messily upon her face, "I'm going to kill you."

He knew she was joking, especially since she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him in a way that he just couldn't ever get over.

"I'll die a very happy man." He said, pushing aside the hair upon her face with his own cold, wet fingertips, and pressing his lips against hers.

"Well, that might be today." She said as she felt his body shiver from the cold. Not only was the water freezing, but the light breeze that had been blowing earlier now felt like a harsh chill. Instead of moving to leave the water though, he just pulled her into his embrace. He could care less about catching a cold, they weren't recording or doing anything for at least two weeks. He'd rather catch a cold, a fever, anything, as long as he could make this moment last.

"I don't care." He muttered.

"Well, I do." She said, trying to unwrap herself from him, but ultimately failing, "I'm freezing." She looked down at herself and then at him and realized that they had no way to get warm. She was drenched, he was shivering, seems there was a price to pay for being spontaneous.

"Oh, fuck." Reagan murmured, "We don't have a change of clothes.."

Harry shrugged, "I think I have a solution."

"And what would that be?"

He tilted his head in the direction of Louis' house in the distance with a smug look upon his face. No explanation was necessary.

Reagan looked at Harry blankly, breathed in, and slowly said, "Harry, we're not breaking into Louis' house."

"It's not breaking in if I know where the extra key is hidden." He replied, shaking his hair out.

"Seriously? People actually do that?" She asked, starting to wade towards the shore. Harry saw her moving and immediately reached for her hand.

"Louis does." He said, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Why does this not surprise me?" She muttered.

The water seemed to be colder and Reagan felt like sneezing. She knew that when she woke up in the morning she would be sick and that more than likely Harry would be as well. But still, as she watched Harry pick up their things, she didn't quite believe that he would actually be considering going into Louis' house. Sure, they were like brothers, but there is such a thing as privacy. There were boundaries that she thought shouldn't be crossed, and going into Louis' house when he's all the way in England was definitely one of them.

"Come on then," Harry said after he picked up everything and placed it into the empty paper bags the food had come in.

"Wait!" She said, chasing after him "We're not seriously going to go into his house?"

"Of course we are. We need warm clothes, don't we?" He said, his long legs making huge strides before her.

She attempted to catch up, jogging almost slightly as she tried to firmly put her foot down,"I am NOT breaking into Louis' house."

"I have a key, it's not breaking in, love."

"We don't have permission!" She argued, trying to grab his arm and pull him back, but he was far too fast for her.

He smirked as he turned to look at her, not even slowing his pace, "If he left an extra key, whoever finds it has permission."

"I don't think that's how it works." She replied, slightly out of breath.

He shrugged, "If he didn't want people going into his house, he wouldn't leave a key."

"Don't you guys have crazy fans? I mean, what if one of them somehow found this out? You heard what happened with Justin Bieber right? How those girls broke into his house?"

"Everyone knows where he lives, Rae."

"And no one knows where you guys live?"

"Is this not a private beach?"

She stayed silent, only trailing behind him.

"You worry too much, come on now. Nothing bad is going to happen, Lou won't mind."

"Right."

"We just won't tell him, okay?"

"If he wouldn't mind, then why shouldn't I tell him."

"Rae, please."

They were close to the house as the breeze picked up, making Reagan shiver slightly. Harry as well felt the breeze, and knowingly slowed his pace so that Reagan could catch up. When she did, he wrapped his arm around her, "It'll all be okay. We're just going to dry our clothes, have a bite, and then head home."

"And what are we going to wear while we dry our clothes?"

"Rae, Louis owns at least two pairs of every Adidas jumper ever made."

She sighed, "I'm not going to fit into his clothes."

"Yeah you are, don't be ridiculous." He said, without a doubt.

Reagan though became more apprehensive by the second. There was no way she would fit into Louis' clothes, no matter what brand they may be. She was regretting her spontaneity more and more. As cute and memorable as the moment may have been, now she was stuck in the problem. Was it worth it? Yeah, it's just clothes, and okay, Harry wouldn't make fun of her if she didn't fit into Louis' sweats. But it was the principal. How exactly would she look if she didn't fit into a pair of sweatpants for fuck's sake? And then it made her think that she probably never be one of those girls who got to steal their boyfriend's hoodie or shirt because she wouldn't fit in it. And just like that her high came down and she realized that once more, she and Harry were so fucking different, so incredibly and immensely different, that there was no way they could last.

As they approached the house, Harry decided that perhaps he could at least check Louis' mail for him. Oblivious to Reagan's mini-meltdown, his mind was more focused on maybe putting some moves on Reagan. They were going to have the house to themselves, and it was the first time they were going to be alone somewhere other than in a car. And besides, what harm could bringing in the mail do? Louis was going to know Harry came in anyway, he had that weird intuition where he knew when somebody messed with his stuff.

"One sec," Harry said, approaching the traditional metal mailbox that kind of clashed with the modern-looking house. He immediately thought that it was some kind of ironic statement, which he was used to after living in LA for so long.

"You're going to check his mail?"

"It's the least I can do," Harry said, opening the box. He expected catalogs and junk mail, per usual, but instead as he felt inside he knew immediately that within the mailbox was the packet they had been waiting for since January. "Fuck." He muttered as he pulled out the manila envelope.

"What?" Reagan asked.

"This is...it's..."

"What!?"

He wasn't quite sure he was ready to know what the board had decided. Zayn certainly didn't wait around for their decision, made his own choice once and for all before they could make any more for him. The boys though wanted to wait. They couldn't just up and leave as Zayn did. They waited anxiously all these months, and finally....

He tore it open, Reagan quickly saying, "Hey! Isn't that Louis' mail!?"

He muttered, "We all got the same packet."

"It's from the label?"

"No," He said, his hands slightly shaking, "It's from Syco."

"From all the way up there?"

"From Simon Cowell himself." He said, throwing the envelope aside and flipping through the pages.

"What do they say? What is it?" She asked curiously, considering looking over his shoulder.

"We've..."

"You've?"

"We've been approved for a hiatus."

"Hiatus!? You guys asked for one!?"

"Yeah." He said, running his hands through his hair, not quite sure what to feel. There was a mixture of sheer joy and terror coursing through his body. The past five years running through his mind as he re-read the words once more, "Effective March 2016 One Direction will be on hiatus for at least a year."


	43. Chapter 43

Reagan didn't know what to think. She wasn't naive enough to believe that the band would stay together forever, of course not. Especially considering the fact that the boys had worked the last five years straight with no break. But after Zayn left she just didn't think that their management would like them to take a hiatus, there was just so much at risk. Sure, they made a big enough impact on the market where if they took a year-long break it would be fine, but what if it was longer? What if one of the other boys didn't want to come back?

She felt a thousand thoughts running through her mind and could only imagine what Harry was thinking. All she could see was the conflicted look upon Harry's face and couldn't imagine how the other boys would feel when they heard the news.

"Isn't that...a good thing? Don't you guys need the break?" She pondered out loud.

"Um, yeah." He nodded, putting the paperwork back into the ripped envelope.

"But?"

He shook his head, "I don't...I don't know, Rae."

"But...didn't you ask for a break?"

He shrugged, "We thought it was a long shot, to be honest. We're still under contract."

"Oh."

He nodded and turned to the house, "Why don't we go in and talk inside?"

She shrugged, "Well, you already opened his mail."

Harry would have laughed under normal circumstances, but instead, he turned and walked towards a flowerpot, grabbed the key that was under it, and opened the front door.

Reagan stood in awe before entering. Were the boys really that trusting that it was that easy to get into their houses? Did Harry, Liam, and Niall do the same? Honestly, maybe not Liam, he seemed to have some sense. But Harry seemed like the typed to just leave the door completely unlocked and opened as he slept. Perhaps that just denoted his trusting nature. Even though it made people label him as naive, he didn't care. He just thought that not all humans were bad, and going around thinking they were was a pretty shitty way to live your life. You had to be nice to get nice back, at least, that was his philosophy.

Maybe that's why it was strange for him to feel so uneasy about the break, to not trust the fact that Modest! had actually taken their side for once. Yeah, he was a pretty trusting guy, but he had a hell of an intuition. And right now, all his gut was telling him was that this hiatus was going to be trouble. He just couldn't believe that even after Zayn left the board gave in and gave them what they asked for. There had to be some reason, but he just couldn't think of one just yet. Of course, though, their contract had been five albums in five years. That was always the plan. They were always supposed to have taken a break after the fifth album. But it was supposed to be a break, not an indefinite hiatus. All Harry could think was that somehow this was the beginning of the end. That they weren't forced to sign another contract, that they had no further responsibility because, in fact, One Direction was done. That five years was all that was in them. But Harry didn't want to believe it, he couldn't accept it. Yes, it had been well known in their camp that a long break was on the horizon and that in that long break they were all free to do as they pleased (which is why he chose to wait for Reagan until after they were done with the album), but they never thought that everything would be left up in the air like this.

He grunted as he walked towards the leather sofa, his thoughts in complete disarray. He was about to plop down when Reagan screamed, "NO!"

He looked up at her in shock, "What!?"

"You're all wet! How are you going to sit on Louis' couch when your clothes are clearly still dripping!?"

Harry shrugged, "This couch has probably seen worse."

"Gross," Reagan said, frowning.

Harry smirked, "I guess I should take off these clothes though, seeing as they're wet."

"Um, yeah. Wasn't that the plan?"

Harry nodded, "Alright then." He pulled his shirt over his head and Reagan wasn't ready. In fact, she wasn't even looking at him when he did it, she was looking at some artwork Louis had hung up. It wasn't until she turned around and came face to face with Harry about to unbuckle his pants that she yelped.

He looked smugly at her and asked, "What?" Even though he knew exactly why she had made that noise.

She closed her eyes and counted to five slowly in her head to calm herself. Reagan had seen Harry shirtless not more than ten minutes ago, but now he was in perfect lighting and she could see him so perfectly. She bit her lower lip and didn't dare open her eyes, hoping her frustration didn't show, "Go get some dry clothes and put yours in the dryer."

"What about you?"

"I doubt anything fits me."

"Don't be ridiculous."

She noticed his voice was traveling and peeked. He was no longer in front of her, and she figured he went up to Louis' room to grab some clothes. Reagan opened her eyes, looking around at Louis' house, a bit surprised at what she was seeing. The modern look wasn't something she expected Louis to like funnily enough, just like Harry. She found it a bit weird that she even knew what Louis liked and disliked at this point, they hadn't even known each other that long. But then again, it was her job to know what the boys were like in order to be able to promote them as artists on their own terms.

"This should fit you just fine," Harry said, coming back in an Adidas track suit with his wet clothes in one hand and a jumper and shorts in another.

"You change fast." She said, noting that he took about five minutes to come back.

He chuckled, "Well, you were so disgusted by my body, you wouldn't even look at me."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm going to go change."

"You do that."

She walked past him, only to look around to try to figure out where the bathroom was.

"Down the hall, to the right." He said, heading towards the kitchen.

Reagan nervously looked at the hoodie in her hands. It didn't matter how much time passed or how long she tried to preoccupy her mind, the reality of the matter was that she would always be self-conscious, especially at times like these. She looked at the tags, saw that they said 'L' and realized that Harry probably went through all of Louis' clothes to find the biggest size. There was no way Louis wore a large, he had to have just been sent these for having worn Adidas so much in public and promoting the brand. The pants still had a tag on them for god's sake. But all Reagan thought was that this was probably the biggest size in Louis' closet, and she might not even fit into it.

She opened the door to the bathroom, shut it behind her, wasn't even fazed by the sheer luxuriousness of it, took a deep breath, and looked at herself in the mirror. She thought she looked horrid. Her hair was plastered around her head, some parts still damp, others frizzy. Her makeup was gone, her clothes stuck to her awkward frame. All she kept thinking was how it was possible that someone would find her attractive. How someone would still want to be with her even after seeing her in this state. She shook her head and started taking off her clothes. She faced away from the mirror, not wanting to even deal with her half-naked reflection knowing that would be a whole other catastrophe.

As she pulled the hoodie on, she found that it miraculously fit. Next, she pulled on the sweatpants, and low and behold they were a little snug but they were on and that was what mattered. Feeling as if she had accomplished a feat like climbing Mt. Everest, she finally looked in the mirror and smiled slightly. She looked as if she had stuffed herself into the clothing, but she was clothed and that was what mattered after all.

"You hungry?" Harry called from down the hall the moment he heard her open the bathroom door.

"You're going to steal his food too?" She asked as she walked to the kitchen.

"He's out of town, he shouldn't have even left food in the fucking fridge."

"Well, yeah that's true," Reagan said looking at Harry as he stood before the massive fridge.

"Oh, look, we can make something if you like?"

Reagan shook her head, uncomfortably tugging at the hoodie as she sat down at the island in the middle of the room. "I'm shit at cooking."

He put his hand on his hip and leaned against the counter, "We have quite a predicament then, don't we."

"Why is that?"

"Because we both can't cook."

Reagan laughed, "But...we know how to use phones."

Harry nodded, "Takeout it is."

"What about the food in the fridge though?"

"There's not much, we can try to do something for breakfast."

"Breakfast? Harry, I'm not sleeping over."

"Why not? We're already here."

Reagan sighed, "Harry, you need to take me home."

"Rae, you need to relax."

He opened a drawer full of take-out menus and proceeded to shift through them as Reagan saw the manila envelope upon the counter and thought to ask, "How are you feeling about all of this?"

"About what? Takeout? I tend to like Thai better than Chinese..."

"Not the food, the hiatus."

"Oh." He said, finally grabbing a menu and closing the drawer, turning to look at her. "I'm not sure."

"Why is that? I thought that it was kind of understood that you guys had a break after this album. I mean, don't the fans even know that?"

"Yeah, but a hiatus is different."

"How is that?"

"Some bands...they don't come back from a hiatus."

Reagan rolled her eyes, "You're not just any band."

"You have to say that."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah you do, you're dating one of the members."

Reagan blushed, "Regardless, it's just a break. An extended break, albeit, but still a break."

"There hasn't been a new contract offered though."

"So? That's a good thing. You guys can sign with another label, on your own terms, as your own band."

He looked at her with a smile, "Yeah, you're right."

"You guys are going to be okay." She said, reassuringly putting her hand over his.

He glanced down and couldn't help but grin, "You being an optimist? That's a first."

"Oh crap, you're right," She said pulling her hand back from his, "Can't let you see my nice side."

Harry laughed, but continued to speak nonetheless, "But really." He said, sitting down across from her, "You think it'll be okay?"

"I don't know. But nothing bad can come out of you guys getting some time off and finally doing what you want, right?"

"I hope so." He said quietly, "I really do."


	44. Chapter 44

Harry watched as Reagan picked at a take out box and figured that maybe she just wasn't eating because something was bothering her. He thought that they had to be over the whole, "I'm too embarrassed" to eat in front of you stage. After all, she had no qualms with eating in front of him earlier on the beach.

"You don't like it?" Harry asked from across the table.

"No, it's not that."

"Then?"

Reagan sighed, "I don't know, not that hungry."

"We ate forever ago, Rae."

"Can't I just save it for later?"

Harry sighed, not wanting to push it any further, "Yeah, of course."

She looked at him guiltily, not wanting to tell him that he had fucked up their order and bought her probably that only thing she didn't want on the menu. Yeah, she was pretty mean to Harry, but this was one of those times that he probably wouldn't laugh it off. In fact, he might feel so bad that he would re-order food just so she could eat. And she was not ready to guilt-trip Harry because unlike guilt-tripping a normal person, she wouldn't get anything out of it other than a headache. Besides, she was going home soon, she could eat then.

"You think our clothes are dry?"

"Does it matter?"

Reagan furrowed her brow, "Yes, it fucking matters."

"Why? We're not leaving until morning."

"Harry, I'm not staying here."

"Wasn't the plan for it to be an overnight trip? Didn't you bring a bag?"

Reagan immediately jumped up, "Oh my god! Yes, I did! How could I forget...." She quickly got up and ran to the little table where Harry had thrown his wallet and keys.

She cursed at herself for getting so wrapped up at the moment that she completely forgot that Kennedy had packed a bag for her.

"Wait." Reagan said, turning to look at him before she opened the front door, "Did you not bring clothes? Wasn't this supposedly an overnight trip?"

Harry shrugged, "Didn't think I needed them."

"That's pretty gross, no wonder people think you probably smell weird."

"No, they do not!"

Reagan smirked, "Okay, sure."

Harry stayed quiet for a minute, before saying, "Do they really?"

Reagan laughed loudly, "Does it matter what they say? What happened to all that shit you say about not caring what people say?"

"Well, it bothers me if people think I reek. I totally don't, I bloody take care of myself."

"Considering how crazy you are about kale and organic this and that..."

"What does that matter?"

"Um, you're kind of a hippie."

"You mean hipster?"

"Kind of. I mean sometimes you come off as a hippie though. Like a crunchy, peace sign throwing, deodorant-less hippie."

"Crunchy!?"

Reagan laughed at the outrage in his voice.

"I am NOT crunchy. Have you smelled me? I smell amazing."

"I don't doubt you do," Reagan said lifting her hand up defensively.

Harry got up from the stool at the kitchen counter and walked towards Reagan, she tried to open the door before he could reach her, but he basically pounced on her and slammed it back closed before she could even move.

"Harry! What the fu-"

"Do I smell bad?"

"Seriously?"

He leaned into her, almost pinning her against the door, "Do I?"

"You're suffocating me." She said in a strained voice.

"Rae, this is life or death."

"Why!?"

"Because! How will people stand to be around me if I smell!?"

"Believe me, the reason people can't stand to be around you isn't because you smell."

"This isn't the time for sarcasm."

"This isn't the time for you to be practically pushing me into your fucking armpit!" She yelled, struggling to get out of his grasp.

"Just tell me if I smell or not!"

"You don't! Just let me go!!"

Harry tried to hold his laughter back, "What do I smell like?"

"Are you serious!?" Reagan pushed him, roughly, already fed up with his ridiculous antics. He wasn't ready for her to shove him though and ended up losing his balance. But he sure as hell wasn't going to fall without her going down with him.

They went down with a loud thud on a luckily cushioned rug. Reagan was mortified that she fell on Harry, and honestly was terrified that she had flattened him completely.

"Harry!?" She said in a panic. She attempted to get up but instead was held down upon him. He smiled his cocky smile and even though she wanted to fight him, she didn't.

"Looks like you fell for me, didn't you."

"You are so lame." She said, pushing back the disheveled, damp hair upon his forehead.

"Ah, but you love it."

Reagan smiled as he leaned in closer, closing the space between them. He covered her mouth with his in a hungry kiss. She responded immediately, surprising herself. It didn't matter how many times she kissed Harry, it felt like the first time again and again. All she felt was his warm mouth upon hers, and all she saw were sparks as she closed her eyes. He was just such a good kisser. Not that she would have anyone to compare him to, but god, she just thought he was the best kisser in the world. And if she didn't get to kiss anyone other than Harry ever again, she would be just fine with that.

Harry's hands though began to get tangled in her hair, and he tasted her tentatively with his tongue, making Reagan breathe a tad heavier. Their kisses were getting more and more passionate by the day, and Reagan didn't know how to feel about it. At the moment, she couldn't think. She couldn't do anything but respond to his urgentness. She lost rhyme and reason when he kissed her as he did.

She had to believe that this is why the voices inside her head stopped taunting her, stopped screaming at her day in and day out. They were too busy trying to stop her from doing something stupid with Harry. They didn't have time to tell her how fat she was, or what a loser she was. In fact, she hadn't had that fact in a while since Kennedy had deleted all of Reagan's personal social media. The only thought she kept having was how far she wanted to go with Harry, and how she shouldn't even be thinking about that now. It had only been a few weeks, they barely knew each other. As it was she shouldn't even be making out with him. But she was, and as he kissed her hungrily, over and over again it was getting so incredibly hard to stop.

In fact, as she was on top of him, she felt her body upon his and felt as if the crevices of hers fit his perfectly and all she could think was that god, there would be nothing better than his bare skin upon hers.

Harry of course was thinking the same thing apparently, because as their kissing slowed a tiny bit, he ended up using his strength to roll Reagan over onto the padded rug, only to climb on top of her. He looked at her, breathlessly. She almost whimpered at the loss of contact between them, but then she realized that Harry was fucking right on top of her His lips were red, and he wiped his mouth with his large hand before inching closer to her once more. His hair fell into his face at the point, he looked a hot mess. Reagan absolutely loved it. She had to restrain herself from taking it any farther than they had taken it thus far.

"So?" He said, slowly tracing kisses up and down her neck, his hands cradling her head up and aiding her in tasting his own soft skin.

"Hmmm?"

"Can we stay the night?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

She almost whispered it, as if she were afraid of her own words, "Can we do this until morning?"

He chuckled, his breath warm against her cool skin, "Love, we can do this for the rest of our lives."

"Lame." She whispered in his ear.

"Watch it, Rae," Harry said, matching her tone of voice, "We might just never leave this place."

"Oh, that's sooooo terrible." Reagan said, tracing Harry's flat stomach over his shirt, "I mean, what a punishment."

Harry kissed her lips once more and she felt her heart race and could hear the blood pumping in her body and just knew that this was what it felt like to be alive. That she never more alive than she had been in Harry's arms, and as scary a thought as that may have been, she loved the fact. She fucking loved him.

Reagan didn't even realize she was speaking when she muttered "I lov-"

"What?"

She cursed at herself for being so caught up in the moment, she couldn't say that to him. Not yet, anyway. Not for a while. Not until she was completely and utterly sure that he felt the same way. And although this could have totally been an indication of how he felt, she knew better than to base love off of a make out. She wanted the timing to be right anyway. She already knew how she felt, right there in his arms, she had come to terms with it. Whether he would hear it or not, time would only tell.

"Nothing." She whispered, "Nothing at all."


	45. Chapter 45

Reagan didn't like what was happening one bit. She watched through heavy-lidded eyes as Harry wrapped them both in a throw he had pulled from Louis' couch above them. He then proceeded to hug her tightly to him, his tattooed arm visible from her perspective, as it linked around her thick waist. There was nothing not to like really, and maybe that was the problem.

Harry thought Reagan was asleep though, both of them too tired to even get off the floor in the first place. She had been lightly snoring not even two minutes ago, that is until he reached for the throw and a pillow or two. He would've offered her a bed in the guest room, but he was afraid that if he stirred her, she would awaken from her dreamy stupor and this moment would be over. He didn't want that, not by a long shot. He was convinced that the moment she woke up it would all be over. That she would no longer kiss him passionately as she had almost the entirety of that night, that she wouldn't be herself around him, that she would guard herself even more fervently. That the lock around her heart would never be opened, and that this moment was all he had. So who could blame him for not bothering to move him and Reagan off the cushioned floor?

Reagan was far from sleep, her mind racing, and her heart roaring as Harry laid next to her becoming the big spoon to the little spoon. All she kept thinking was how she didn't want the morning to come because with the sun came the fact that they would have to leave and Reagan would have to revert to her protective and self-conscious self. That the night they had just spent would have meant next to nothing, because Harry was Harry and Reagan was Reagan and they just weren't meant for each other. But the more she thought about this fact, the more she realized she didn't want it to be this way. Sure, he was famous and she wasn't a model, but god, they were so good together. She just couldn't believe that the way they felt when they were together was wrong, that they weren't meant to be together. She loved him, she did. She loved that weird, curly-haired, lanky hipster with a heart of gold. And the more she thought about the fact, the less it scared her and the more it overwhelmed her.

She just wished it could be as easy as it was in that instant. She just wanted to be with Harry, plain and simple. But for now, she just wanted to be lulled to sleep in Harry's arm. It would be enough, at least until morning.

—✴—

It was well past noon when Harry wakes up. He looks around, clearly befuddled as to why he's on an unfamiliar floor in clothes that clearly aren't his. His eyes adjust to the extremely bright light coming in through the tall glass windows. He turns on his side to face away from the blinding reflection, only to see Reagan's blonde head. It all comes back to him in that moment.

He wraps his arms around her again, not even caring if he wakes her up or not. He just couldn't believe she had actually stayed, that they had slept together (in the literal sense), and that it actually felt as if they were together. For once they felt like a real couple, and Harry didn't want it to end.

"Mhmm" Reagan mumbled, clearly still asleep. That is until she realizes she's being hugged and is jolted awake by the very fact.

Harry holds on though, innocently saying, "Good morning, sunshine."

"I told you I wasn't staying the night." She exclaimed groggily, attempting to get up. But she was only thwarted by Harry.

"You're already here though, and you slept so peacefully..."

"What time is it?"

"Half-past noon."

"What!?"

"What?" Harry asked, clearly befuddled.

"I told my parents I'd be home this morning. Oh...oh my god where is my phone?" This time Reagan tried to get up and Harry let her. In fact, he got up before her to look for her phone.

"When was the last time you checked it?" He asked.

"I don't remember. I think before we came in the house." Reagan wasn't one to keep her phone glued to her hand.

"You don't remember putting it anywhere?"

She shook her head, "Did you take it out of my jeans when you threw it in the wash?" "

"Did you leave it in your pants?"

"Did you not check the pockets?"

"No..."

"Oh, fuck!" Reagan said, running down the hall to the laundry room. It wasn't enough for Harry just to throw their clothes in the dryer, no, he had to wash them too.

"Rae, it's just a phone, it'll be fine." He tried.

"Just a phone!? I had three payments left on it!" She breathed out angrily, "I know you don't understand the concept of money, but when people lose valuable things they tend to get very upset."

"You think I don't understand the concept of money?"

"I saw you use a YSL handkerchief to wipe your car window, Harry. What did it cost? Like two hundred dollars? And you use it to wipe down your car?"

"Hey, that's not fair. It was old."

Reagan sighed loudly, "Harry, I can't just go out and replace a phone like that. Do you get me? It was extremely expensive. I know you have, like, millions of dollars in your bank account, but not all of us have that luxury."

"I understand, Rae. It was totally my fault, so the only logical thing would be for me to replace-"

"No! I don't want you to buy me a new phone. That's not what this is about."

"Well then what is it about?"

"You can't just offer to buy me a new phone, Harry. The world doesn't work as easily as it may for you."

"Wow. Okay."

"What, I'm not right?"

Harry looked at Reagan, clearly disappointed, "I didn't say that, I just didn't think you looked at me that way."

"What way?"

"You know, the whole "pretentious rich boy" kind of way? I came from humble beginnings too, Rae. I know what it's like to not be able to pay for something."

"I-" She crossed her arms. Even she didn't know why they were arguing. It was an accident, after all, they were both so scatter-brained last night, it honestly could have happened to her as well. And she never really thought about Harry in that way at all, not until now at least. She didn't look at him and just think about how rich he was, not at all. Sure, she was intimidated by how famous he was, how handsome he was, how incredibly kind-hearted he was. But never by his money. She cursed herself for letting her anger get the best of her, she never functions well in the morning.

"Look," He said, a tad guiltily, "We don't even know if it was actually in your jeans when I washed them, right?"

"Well, it's not around here."

He fidgeted, "I'll go check the machine."

Reagan then felt like shit for screaming at Harry. She knew that he was probably beating himself up anyway for being so careless, she didn't need to add onto that. It's not like he did it on purpose.

While he was gone she busied herself looking for her phone under the couch, between the cushions, on the kitchen table. It was nowhere to be found though.

She heard footsteps coming from the other side of the house though, and looked up at a very somber Harry.

"I'm sorry." He said, holding up her phone. The screen was cracked and it was obviously waterlogged.

It took every nerve in her body not to respond with some sarcastic remark. She knew she had already done enough damage insinuating that he didn't know the value of a dollar.

"It's okay." She replied, walking towards him, taking the phone, and placing it on the table next to them. She took his hands in hers and smiled, "It's just a phone. Anyway, I'll be getting a hefty payday when your new album hits number one."

"Well, you know, I have a bunch of old phones."

"No, Harry."

"Well, at least for now you can use mine to call home?"

"Nah, it's alright." She said, "We're leaving soon anyway, aren't we?"

He pouted, "If you really want to."

"I have to."

He sighed, "Alright then, let's get you home."


	46. Chapter 46

It wasn't easy for Reagan to pretend as if she had no feelings for Harry, in fact, it was getting harder by the day. She already knew that she was head over heels for him, that she loves- no way too soon for that. Yeah, she thought it when they were in the midst of their little make out last night, how couldn't she. She was completely overtaken with emotion, and she knew that saying that in the heat of the moment would just completely discredit it. If she loved him, she would think it-and say it- when they weren't in the midst of a passionate moment. She would feel it, she wouldn't be afraid of it...would she?

Then again, she was afraid just thinking about the fact. What if Harry just laughed in her face? What if he didn't say it back? What if he didn't feel the same way? Reagan just wasn't ready to put herself out there like that. Yeah, she could kiss him and fall asleep in his arms, but every night? No. She just couldn't see them together. Not now at least. Not when she knew that the boys' world was about to be flipped upside down by this hiatus, not when the press was going to be breathing down all of their necks. Harry didn't need any more attention on him, he already got the grunt of it as it was. Whatever she was feeling, she'd hide it until the tour was over. In fact, maybe until they went on their hiatus. After all, when most artists go on a hiatus they fall off the face of the Earth. So who isn't to say Reagan and Harry pull a disappearing act for a few months? But perhaps the most important reason for waiting would be to see if both their feelings remained. If they were still head over heels even after half a year if then they were ready to fight to be together. Reagan couldn't even fight for herself, she didn't even know how to love herself, how could she be expected to fight for their relationship and love a boy she had known for like five minutes?

She watched as Harry re-folded the clothes they had "borrowed" and put them back into Louis' closet, and couldn't help but study him as he tried his best to precisely fold the jumper and place it exactly where he had found it. How his hair got in his face and he used one large hand to quickly put it back in place. How his tongue stuck out slightly as he stood before the large closet with his arms crossed, and wondered where exactly he had taken the clothes out from. How he turned to look at her with a huge smile on his face. Wait...

"Are you watching me?" He asked, almost laughingly.

Reagan blushed, quickly getting up off of Louis' bed, "What, no. No of course not. I was just kind of lost in thought." She sputtered, obviously flustered, "I'll just go get my bag from the car, I shouldn't show up in the same clothes I left in anyways. Do you know? Yeah. I'll just go-"

"Stop." He said as he walked towards her, throwing the jumper back on the bed. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I know you were staring at me."

"I was not."

"I stare at you sometimes, you just never catch me."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because you just sound like a creep."

He rolled his eyes, "I stare at you because I can't believe how incredibly beautiful you are, Rae."

"Right." She said in a sarcastic tone.

"And how lucky I am." He said, ignoring her remark. "Because I'm incredibly lucky, you know that."

As he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head, Reagan wished she could say the same. That she could tell him that she always watched him out of the corner of her eye to make sure that he was safe, or that he was smiling, or just to make sure he was okay.

But all that came out was, "I need to go change, just finish putting his stuff back."

Harry nodded, acting as if that didn't sting, "Yeah, go change."

Reagan cursed at herself over and over as she walked to the car and back. She cursed at herself as she walked down the hall and into the bathroom. But she cursed out loud when she realized that Kennedy had repacked her bag after she had closed it.

"Fuck!" She said angrily as she pulled out what was obviously a crop top. The same fucking crop top Reagan had said no to in the first place.

She searched through the bag, hoping there was at least one pair of jeans or a t-shirt, but no, of course not. Of course, Kennedy picked all of the clothes she had bought Reagan on one of her many shopping trips. Two sundresses with cutouts and one crop top with a pair of stretchy pants. How could Reagan possibly change into that?

"Reagan?" Harry asked through the door, a knock following shortly after.

"I'm fine!" She yelled, clearly not sounding fine.

"Oh, okay. I'll be waiting in the front room."

"Yeah."

She breathed in and out, trying to calm herself. She looked at one of the sundresses, her most probable option, and decided that maybe she could wear it with her cardigan. The cardigan was long enough to cover the slits on the sides anyway, so would it be that big of a deal? And if she kept her tank top on it actually look close enough to be the same material as the dress, so it could cover up the slits.

She took off her clothes, facing away from the mirror, and slipped on the black tribal print dress, sighing all the while. She didn't dare turn around until she fumbled around with her sweater and put it on over the sundress. It was then and only then that she peeked in the mirror.

"Huh." She said aloud, pleasantly surprised. As long as the cardigan stayed in place, the sundress reached her knees, and not very much was exposed. In fact, the slits were completely covered with her black tank top underneath, and you couldn't even notice it had slits in the first place. Still, that didn't mean Kennedy was going to get away with it. In fact, she was going to hear quite a bit from Reagan when she got home. And still, that didn't mean Reagan didn't feel incredibly uncomfortable. She hadn't worn a dress like this in such a long time, maybe even when she weighed about twenty pounds less. Sure, she dressed up for work every day, but she was so meticulous in choosing her clothing, that it didn't feel right to be wearing this dress she hadn't even seen before today. She felt nervous, and it was understandably so.

But she didn't look that bad, at least she didn't think so. And that was a pretty big step for her, she didn't look at herself in disgust. All she kept hearing was Harry saying "I stare at you because I can't believe how incredibly beautiful you are, Rae." and trying to see it. She wanted to see herself the way that Harry said he saw her. Because all she saw was a pretty fat girl, trying to pull off an obviously skinny girl's dress. But while she saw that, she also saw that her eyes were this really pretty green color, almost like freshly cut grass. And that her hair, albeit messy, was flowing down her shoulders and back, making her look like a plus-sized Rapunzel. There was some beauty in her, and she was starting to recognize it. Amazing how things change.

"Rae, did you fall in?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, Harry."

"Oh, just checking. It's happened before."

"To who?" She asked, putting all of her clothes back into her bag, closing it, and finally opened the door to see Harry leaning against the wall in front of the bathroom.

"Niall. But he was drunk."

"I thought that only happened to girls..."

"No, it happens to drunks too." He said with a laugh.

She shook her head, "It's not nice to call your friends drunks."

"You've never seen Niall sober, Rae."

"What!?"

"Yeah, he's usually about two or three in when he walks into the studio in the mornings."

"You're lying."

"He said he got a blood test once, and they got no blood, in fact, they just stuck a tap in his vein and poured pints for everyone in the doctor's office."

Reagan tried to keep a straight face, "I'm going to tell Niall you're talking shit about him."

"No! I was only joking!! Please, for the love of God, I don't want to start another row with Niall."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Reagan said smugly.

Harry pouted, but looked at his watch and then at Reagan, mumbling, "Anyway, we should get going. It's half-past two."

"Already?"

"Yeah, right. Feels like we just got here."

"We weren't even supposed to stay here. I hope Louis doesn't get mad."

Harry shrugged, "Eh, he won't care."

"You think he'll figure it out?"

"Most likely, he really does have an innate sense of when somebody's touched his things. Especially when I mess with his stuff. But, who cares. It's not like he likes this house anyway." Harry said, taking the bag from Reagan's grasp.

"Then why does he live here?"

"He doesn't. Not really."

She looked around at the high ceilings and the large walls for the first time and felt more vulnerable than usual. She could understand why Louis couldn't tolerate this place.

"Let's blow this popsicle stand," Harry said, his smile as huge as the windows that were beaming in the bright sunlight. And as much as Reagan wanted to roll her eyes at his cheesy line, she just couldn't. All she could do was smile back. She was in trouble, so much trouble.


	47. Chapter 47

Weeks came and went, some notably, others not so much. There wasn't anything particularly exciting this Saturday morning either, just the fact that it was the last weekend before their break was over. And also the fact that being this close to Harry became something totally routine to Reagan. She was used to his presence, to his weirdness, to his horrible jokes, and weird juicing habits. It wasn't that she didn't get butterflies every time he looked at her head-on, not by a long shot. It was just that it felt like there was some kind of new normal in her life, one that she actually liked.

"Am I taking you home?" Harry asked, clearly not wanting her to.

"It's been a long morning, and I promised Kennedy I'd take her to the mall today. She needs to pick up some shoes for her prom."

"Isn't it like a month away?"

"She got her dress three months ago."

"Oh, so clearly this is very late for her to be getting her shoes."

"Clearly," Reagan said with a smirk.

They had spent the entire morning at the studio with Julian. Harry still wanting to get out some lyrics and Reagan catching up on some work. His voice was a little raspy from singing for about five hours straight, but he looked happier. He needed to sing, had quite a few lyrics on his mind the past few days. It was incredibly therapeutic for him. Especially the fact that he had Julian and the studio all to himself. He didn't even mind Reagan was around, mostly because he was in the soundproof room and she couldn't hear a thing. But he needed a day like today, actually, he needed a lot of days like today. It just felt like sometimes they got so caught up in having to produce more and more albums, that they lost the art of it. They forgot the sheer feeling of being able to release your innermost thoughts onto a sheet of paper. They never were able to just take a song and work on it for days, weeks, months. Not a lot of songs, usually just one or two. But those few songs were so close to their hearts, just like this particular one was close to Harry's. After about a month, it was almost ready. He couldn't wait for Reagan to hear it...when the album came out.

They had done a lot the past few weeks. But mostly, they got to know each other. For real this time. No making out (okay maybe a little), no running away from massive crowds, no worrying about what other people would think. They just got to talk, to get to know each other's quirks. And it only proved to Harry that this would work. That giving it time would make it all figure itself out.

But he knew there was one thing he and Reagan hadn't talked about yet, and that was the matter of her going on tour with the boys. He weighed the pros and cons endlessly, but ultimately he knew that it was up to her to decide. And he didn't want to influence her decision, so even though he wanted to ask (almost every day), he didn't. Actually, he probably wasn't going to until Reagan brought it up herself.

"You think maybe I could tag along?"

"To the mall? On a Saturday? Nice try."

He pouted, "Fine. Another day then."

As they were reaching the street they needed to turn on, Reagan's new phone went off.

Harry of course sighed and rolled his eyes, upset that Reagan hadn't let him buy her a new one, even though it was clearly his fault. But Reagan didn't even pay attention to his little sigh.

"Huh. Kennedy said to pick her up on the next street, not on ours."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know..."

She waited for Kennedy to text back, but she never did. In fact, she saw her little sister sprinting towards them in the distance.

"Harry! Stop the car."

"What, why is she...?"

It was was only mere seconds before Kennedy reached the car, Reagan rolled down the window only to be greeted by a panting and out of breath Reagan.

"Kenz?"

"Rae. You...you can't go home." She said, holding onto her sides.

"Why?"

"They found....out...."

"Who? Who found out what?"

"Fans. They know...they know where we live."

She showed Reagan her phone, a picture of a flurry of girls outside their gates.

"Why? Why did they come to our house?"

At that Kennedy grabbed her phone back and opened her web browser, showing Reagan an article that had come out earlier that morning.

"Harry Styles Completely Smitten with PR Intern Reagan Bailey?"

Follow by pictures, so many fucking pictures of them from the past month.

"How did they-"

"Fans, Rae. They're all captured by fans." Kennedy said, trying to hide the disgust in her voice. "Somebody leaked our address too. Thanks to that fucking article the Mirror wrote last month that revealed everything about you, they were able to find us.

Reagan couldn't even respond.

Harry quietly said, "Get in, Kennedy."

Kennedy didn't even blink, just did as she was told.

Reagan though kept looking at the phone in her hand, willing herself not to look at the comments. She knew it had been too good to be true, that all this happiness and normalcy couldn't come without a cost.

"You guys look happy," Kennedy said, looking over Reagan's shoulder at the phone. They weren't touching in the picture, in fact, they were a few inches apart. Reagan walking at least a few steps behind Harry, but him still turning around to look at her with a huge smile on his face, making her laughingly look down at her feet to avoid him seeing her blush.

Neither of them responded though. They knew that with this being the second article, with plenty of pictures, Lydia was bound to do something about it. And a scandal wasn't going to pop out of anywhere to save them.

"You know, honestly, it doesn't even look like you guys are dating. You look like friends. Friends who totally want to bone, but friends nonetheless."

Harry cracked a smile and shook his head, but Reagan was still stoic. Harry then turned to look at her, "It's just a couple of pictures and a bunch of speculation, love. Don't worry."

That's all it usually took though and Reagan knew that. All it took was some pictures and a shitload of speculations, that's how most downfalls started nowadays in the business.


	48. Chapter 48

Needless to say, Reagan's parents were beyond outrage at the fact that there were about fifty teenage girls rioting outside their house. They were silent as they stood before Reagan and looked at her, no indication of wanting to start a conversation what so ever.

Reagan understood, it was jarring to see so many people in front of their quiet house in their quiet neighborhood. It was even more jarring to know that a lot of them wanted Reagan's head on a plate. But there she was, still in one piece, safe and sound after she and Kennedy had fought their way back into their house with the help of one of the boys' guards. Harry had one of them stay outside the house in case anything should happen, so at least they had that. Reagan had a feeling though that one guard wasn't going to be enough to comfort her parents. In fact, she had no idea what would at this point.

"Are you guys...going to say something?" Kennedy said, brow furrowed as she watched the face-off.

"Go your room." Reagan's mom said, firmly.

"Not what I meant," Kennedy said, rolling her eyes, but getting up regardless of the fact.

It wasn't until she left the room and Reagan was left alone with the two of them that her father finally spoke, "Please tell me it's not true."

"It's not."

"Because you've worked so hard to get this job, Rae. You can't just throw it all away for some punk singer." He ran a hand through his dark hair, and Reagan noted that he was getting more white hairs. She figured it was the fact Kennedy was leaving for college soon and his other daughter was possibly dating a pop star.

"He's actually a nice boy, James." Reagan's mother said, trying to calm him. She tried to grasp his large arm with her tiny delicate hand.

"That's beside the point, Julie." He snarled, pulling his arm away "Do you think other firms are going to care if he was a nice boy? No! They're going to care that she dated him. That she dated a client! What was the first thing I told you, Reagan?"

"Not to mix your personal life with your business life."

"Exactly. Don't you remember what happened with Kennedy?"

She rolled her eyes, "That's not the same thing, dad. So her friends wanted a peek at an album I had. So what."

"You shouldn't have told her who you were working for in the first place. You have a lot of high profile clients in this business, Rae. How are they going to entrust you with their entire reputation if you can't even keep your mouth shut?"

Reagan didn't say anything back, she knew it would just be adding fuel to the fire.

"You girls thought I was being unfair not telling you who I was working with? Now, do you understand why?"

Reagan rolled her eyes once more, obviously, it was her turn to be silent.

"I've been in this business far longer than you, Rae, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know."

"Then just stay away from him. If he's your friend, he'll know it's for the best."

"Uhuh."

"You can't be seen with him anymore Rae, you know how the tabloids love to gossip. You'll be front-page news if you keep this up."

"She already is!" Kennedy yelled from the staircase.

"You're not helping," Reagan said, rubbing her temples.

Reagan's father sighed loudly, "You're really not involved with this boy, Reagan?"

She didn't hesitate in responding, knowing her dad could read her like a book, "I know better than that."

"Well, those pictures won't help solidify that statement."

"You saw them?"

He nodded, "Had them forwarded to me by a colleague, asking if that was you."

"Oh."

"You see what I mean? You don't want people knowing you as the intern that ended up dating the pop star she was working for, do you?"

Of course, she didn't, that was what she wanted to avoid all along. That was her biggest fear. Was. Now she wasn't quite sure what to think. She didn't find it fair that her entire reputation could be tarnished like that. Harry certainly wasn't going to be, after all, he was the "womanizer". She'd just be another one in his book. But he'd be the deciding factor in her entire story. How was that even remotely fair?

"N-No."

"Has your boss talked to you?"

Reagan shook her head, "She's in France or something right now. We haven't heard from her."

"Oh, believe me, you will."

Well, Reagan knew that. She had already been warned once by Lydia to avoid being photographed with Harry, now look at what happened.

"Do you think she'll fire me?"

Reagan's father shook his head, "It would look bad on the company. Especially if they want to maintain the claim that you two are just friends and it's a simple misunderstanding. After all, it would like immensely suspicious if they were to fire you right after these photographs were released."

"The press would love it. It would just mean that they were together, right?" Reagan's mom added. Sure, her dad said he'd never share anything from work with his daughters, but he told her mom everything. She was at times the one who helped him come up with his strategies for certain campaigns.

"Exactly. You'll be fine, Rae."

"Yeah?"

He nodded, "Just stay away from that boy."

"She works with him," Kennedy shouted again from the top of the staircase.

"Didn't we tell you to go to your room?" Reagan's mom quipped.

Reagan's dad ignored Kennedy though, "I realize that you work with him. But your internship is almost over isn't it?"

"Not till November."

"That's not too far off."

"It's like six months, dad."

He sighed, "Look, if you don't like this boy, then you shouldn't have any problems just keeping away from him right?"

Reagan wanted to say yes, that it wouldn't be a problem That she wanted to have a huge, successful career. That she was willing to sacrifice whatever it was she had with Harry to accomplish a dream she had had for such a long time.

"I-I..."

But she just couldn't do it. Of course, she wanted to be successful, but was a career the only way to qualify her success? What about love? What about happiness? Why couldn't she have it all?

Why couldn't she just be with Harry?

But for the sake of her dad and the sake of her future, she mumbled a non-committal "Yeah, of course, I can." Even though she knew she couldn't. Even though she wouldn't.

"You'll see it'll all work itself out." Her dad muttered, patting her hand as he got up to leave the room, "And Kennedy, nobody likes a smart aleck." He said as he headed towards the stairs.

Reagan though just sat back in her seat, weighing what was more important. And for once, she didn't have a clear cut view. She didn't have set goals. All she had was the gnawing feeling that things were just going to get worse from here on out.


	49. Chapter 49

Harry tapped his long fingers against his steering wheel as he drove his Range Rover past Reagan's house and directly to the studio. Lydia had called the night before, a day after the news had broken, and calmly had told them to meet them in the studio that morning. Lydia's voice had sounded calm and even enough, she wasn't a terribly unfair person. But Harry knew that when something needed to be done, she did it. So it was understandable that he was incredibly reluctant as he reached the studio. It was even more understandable that he was really missing Reagan's presence now that she wasn't in the car with him.

Reagan had of course suggested that they shouldn't carpool anymore, and as much as Harry hated it, he couldn't dispute it. She was right after all. They had no idea what Lydia was going to say to them. Factor in the fact as well that the rest of the boys have yet to land, and that they were going to be completely alone with her and Paul discussing what to do next.

Louis had texted him last night, just having heard what had happened. Reassuring him that things would be okay. But he sounded off to Harry, something just didn't seem right, he almost sounded distracted. Harry would've pressed further, but there were just other things to worry about at the moment.

As soon as he pulled into the parking lot, he saw Reagan sitting in her car. It was only 9:50 and they had agreed to meet at 10:00 AM. Knowing Reagan she was just waiting for the clock to strike 10:54 so that she could be on her way. So Harry didn't get out of his car, knowing that she didn't want them both to go in together. He knew that they had acted stupidly, that he had flaunted the fact that he and Reagan were close without acknowledging the consequences. And now he had to pay for it.

He didn't even know what Reagan was feeling at this point. He had only conversed with her through texts, a few here and there, just enough to know that her father was furious and that maybe they shouldn't carpool anymore. Other than that, he knew nothing. He was terrified that she would revert back to her closed up self, that all they had been through that month would be erased.

So as he watched her get out of her car, he prayed that he still had a chance. He was a religious man after all.

And Reagan didn't head straight for the elevator when she got out of her car at 10:52. No, she walked over to Harry and tapped on his window, a smile playing upon her face.

"Well?" She asked when he rolled it down.

"Well, what?"

She looked at her watch, "We're going to be late."

"We're going in together?"

She shrugged, "Don't make a big deal out of it, Styles."

He smirked, "What, you think I'll make a big deal?" Harry replied in his slow drawl, obviously trying to keep his cool.

She rolled her eyes, "Come on now, we'll be late."

It looked as if his prayer had been answered, so he feigned nervousness as he said, "This is one thing I wouldn't mind being late to."

"You think she's going to tear into us?"

"Not us, just me."

"Why is that."

"Because I'm the one who always gets in trouble, you're like, perfect. She knows you wouldn't have done anything."

"You think?"

"I know."

But he didn't. All he wanted was to reassure Reagan, and maybe even lie to himself to quell his anxiousness.

"This feels like we're walking on death row." Reagan quipped.

Harry laughed, "Don't exaggerate."

"I'm not. It feels like she's going to kill us."

He shrugged, "Depending on how big this story got, she just might."

—✴—

"I imagine you two know why you're here?" Lydia asked, not even looking up from her laptop when Harry and Reagan walked in.

"Um, yeah?" Harry said, sitting down next to Reagan.

"Didn't I warn you this would happen?" Lydia said, her voice rising an octave higher as it usually did when she became annoyed. She had a steaming mug before her, and Harry could smell the chamomile in it. She usually reserved that particular blend of tea for when Harry was getting on her last nerve.

"Yes." Harry conceited.

"But you didn't listen anyway, did you, Harry? Because you just hate listening to any sound advice. Now, look what's happened. Poor Reagan has hundreds of girls outside her house-"

"Actually, they've cleared out." Harry said, raising a finger, "Won't be a problem anymore."

"Beside the point." Lydia replied."The point is that there is now a lot of speculation going around that you two are most certainly an item."

"Why is that bad?" He asked.

"Are you?"

Reagan quickly shook her head and Harry rolled his eyes. He would've liked nothing more than to tell the world that they were together, but of course, he'd hold his tongue once again.

"No." He said firmly.

"Then we have a problem."

"How so?"

"I imagine you've received the papers?"

"About the hiatus?" Lydia nodded, "Yeah." Harry said firmly, "The other lads haven't. They don't know yet."

"They were mailed to your houses here, weren't they."

"Yeah. They'll see the letters when they come back."

Lydia closed her laptop and looked directly at Harry, "You're going on hiatus. We don't know for how long."

"I know."

"How do you think that'll affect your reputation? On top of Zayn leaving, on top of the spat between him and Louis? On top of everything that's happened this year? Do you want to add onto this? You with your PR intern?"

Harry shook his head solemnly, "No."

"That's right no because it's not fair to Reagan. She's going to be demonized out there. She's one of the best we've had here, we can't lose her because of yet another one of your childish and capricious whims."

Reagan tilted her head slightly, "Wait, so you're not mad at me?"

"Oh, heavens no. I know you and Harry aren't in a relationship, goodness."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Why does that sound so unbelievable?"

Lydia shrugged, "I just don't see it happening."

Reagan could read between the lines though, Harry too, and they didn't like it one bit. But they bit their tongues for the moment, simply wanting to end this conversation.

"So, do we have to take any further action?" Harry asked.

"Actually, I have an idea." Lydia said, pushing a stack of papers towards Harry, "This is Hailey Stone." She said, obviously referring to the picture of the brunette at the top of the pile. She was slim and perfect looking, that Reagan could see just from one little glimpse over Harry's shoulder. "She's launching her singing career in the US this year. She's Australian. Wants to be the first female Aussie to go number one here in the States."

"And?" Harry said, taking the picture in his hand. He didn't know what to make of the girl smiling back at him in the picture.

Lydia picked up her mug and calmly responded, "She's your new girlfriend."


	50. Chapter 50

There was an eerie silence in the room after Lydia had spoken. It was so silent in fact, that they could hear Lydia taking a sip from her now cooled tea.

It took Harry a couple of seconds to process what she had said. Girlfriend? What? He almost fell out of his seat, "Excuse me?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Harry. Don't be so simple. You knew this is what I would have to resort to."

Harry's hand shook, he could feel his face grow flushed, "You swore that Jenner girl would be the last one."

"You also swore you wouldn't do anything to call attention to yourself, didn't you?"

"But why is it so bad that people think me and Reagan are dating!? Why was it so bad people thought Louis and I were dating!? Why are you people so obsessed with my image!?"

Lydia could not roll her eyes any harder, Reagan was sure it was physically impossible, "Look, Harry." Lydia began, "I am a fair woman. I know you lot are only boys, that you've had to grow quicker than should have been expected of you. But you and I both know that your image is the most important thing if you want to have a career."

"Why should it matter who I'm involved with? Whether it's a man or a woman? Why should it matter what they look like, what they do, who they are? Doesn't what I think only matter?"

"Harry, you know that's not how it works. And it isn't just because of the way Reagan looks, it's because of who she is. She is an employee. Practically your employee! How could you date someone you work so closely with? Do you know how bad that looks upon you and this band, this company?"

"So you think just glossing this over with a few pictures of me snogging this girl is going to cover this whole thing up?" He said throwing the picture back onto her desk. His grip had been so tight around it, he had crumpled the picture a bit.

"Harry, you know what this world is like. You know that you have to present yourself a certain way or-"

"I'll ruin the band's image? Decline sales? Ruin this new album?"

"All of the above."

"So what? Am I supposed to just continue pretending I have these "girlfriends" whenever a new scandal arises? Or whenever they need the social boost? Because it's a bloody two way street, isn't it?

"Well of course Hailey would use this to her advantage, Harry. She wants to make it big here, what better way to promote herself than to date a huge pop star?"

"So again with this? How much longer do I have to do this, Lydia?"

"Only a couple of dates, Harry. A little exposure, nothing serious. We're not asking you to marry her."

"Because you probably learned your lesson with Zayn," Harry mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You know that the lot of you are the reason he left, the reason Louis keeps rebelling, the reason Liam's always gone and Niall's always quiet. If you keep treating us all this way, you're not going to have a band to manage."

"Really? We're going to go down that road?"

"Our contract with you is ending soon. We only have to the end of the year. Who's to say we resign with this label?" Harry remarked, laying all his cards on the table. He didn't even turn to look at Reagan. He didn't even realize she was still in the room. It was just him and Lydia, finally having it out.

"Exactly, soon. It's ending soon, not now. Right now, you are completely bound under the terms of your current contract and within that contract, it states that I am in charge of all of your images and reputations and that I have to do what I must so that they will not be tarnished. I have chosen the course of action to resolve this problem, and that is final."

"So that's it then, I don't get a say? Once again?"

"Hailey lands tomorrow night. There will be an article released from an unconfirmed anonymous source stating how you two met while you were on tour, and how you've been seeing each other now for four months. We release a couple of pictures in the next few weeks and it's all over. I don't understand why this is such a huge problem, Harold."

"You don't understand why? Really, Lydia?" He shook his head, "What is going to happen when I really do find someone that I want to be with. are you going to have to approve of them as well? What if I am gay or bi? Or what if the girl I fall in love with is so incredibly different from everyone else I've ever dated? What if she's not a model or an actress, but extraordinary in her own right? What if he's my band member? What if he's my best friend?"

"Are you telling me you're gay?" Lydia said, clearly not caring to understand what Harry was saying.

"Does it matter what I am? Why does everything have to have a fucking label with you people."

"Language." Lydia warned, "I understand you're frustrated, but as I've already said, you're under contract. I'm sure Reagan agrees with me. She knows that this is what's best."

Harry looked at Reagan now for the first time, she didn't meet his eyes. In fact, she didn't look at either of them. She wanted so fucking badly to tell Lydia to stick her plan up her ass and to storm out of there with Harry, but she couldn't. He was still under contract, and she was still an employee. Life just wasn't that easy.

"Yeah." Reagan said, clearing her throat, "It would help distract from this scandal and promote Hailey as an artist here in the US."

"Precisely," Lydia said, obviously relieved that someone appeared to be on her side.

Reagan could feel Harry's piercing stare upon her, she knew he felt betrayed. But what could she have done?

"Are we done here?" Harry finally said in defeat.

"Yes. Boys should be here soon though, we need to talk about your hiatus and new contract."

"Whatever," Harry said, getting out of his seat and heading towards the door. He needed to get out of there.

Reagan went to get up as well knowing there was nothing left for her to say, and mostly because she was worried about Harry. He left before she even got out of her seat though, slamming the door behind him.

Lydia simply said, "Keep an eye on him, don't want him stirring up more trouble." As she opened the door and left the room.

As Reagan walked down the hallway, she was pulled down the same corridor she and Harry had hid in when she had first started working there. She yelped, but he quickly covered her mouth, knowing that if she made one sound security would come out.

"Shhh." He muttered.

"Harry." She said, removing his hand, "Is this really a good idea?"

"Reagan, I can't do this anymore." He said on the verge of tears.

"Harry." She said, slowly placing her hand on his stubbly cheek, "It's only a few months."

"I don't want to anymore, it's always just a couple of days or a few months. Why do I have to keep waiting to live my life?"

"Once you get out of your contract, it'll be done with." She tried.

"Doesn't it even bother you that I have to pretend to date someone else?"

"I-" She removed her hand as she felt his jaw twitch in anger.

"I know you don't want to admit it, but you do love me, don't you? I love you, Rae. I fucking love you. I can't do this, not anymore. I don't want to do this to you."

"Har-"

"No," he said, interrupting her again, "if we stand up to her, she can't just kick me out of the group. There's too much at stake."

Reagan shook her head, "Harry, we can't do this now."

"Do you not love me?"

She didn't answer, and maybe that was enough of a response for him because he just sighed and shook his head before he walked back into the studio without even looking back. Reagan didn't even know what had happened, she just ended up slumping down on the floor, head between her knees, wishing she could tell Harry "I love you too."


	51. Chapter 51

It was around four in the afternoon when Harry's phone started buzzing. he ignored it, wasn't quite in the mood to talk to anyone. But then it wouldn't stop. It just kept buzzing and buzzing until finally he picked it up and yelled, "What!?"

"Where the fuck are you?" Louis asked, obviously taken aback that Harry had just yelled at him for absolutely no reason. 

Harry had left the studio, gotten in his car, and drove. He didn't get far though, just far enough to get fro-yo and pout in his car.

"Why?"

"We're all here. We're waiting for you?"

"It's only four."

"Well, we're all here, Harold. Lydia's waiting for you to arrive so we can talk."

Harry cleared his throat, "Did you get the letter?"

"Yeah. I mean it was fucking open, but I read it." He responded in an accusatory tone, "Also, I have a bone to pick with you. Who do you think you are coming in to my house and-"

"Another time, Lou. Please." Harry pleaded.

"Look, it's just an hour, okay? Lydia knows we all want to get home. Niall's jet lagged and being a proper dick, nobody wants to be around that. Reagan's out of sorts as well. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Harry stayed quiet.

"Figured you two had a spat. Well, if you want we can have have a chat after? You can clean up the fucking mess you made in my home?"

"It's perfectly clean."

"The Adidas is in the Vans drawer and I don't even know where my favorite jumper is..."

Harry sighed, putting his bright pink fro-yo cup in the cup holder and leaning back in his seat. 

"Fine, just come over. We'll knock back some pints. Unless you're still juicing?"

"Okay, yeah." He put the key in the ignition, reluctantly. "I'll see you in the studio."

"Alright, well, Reagan's not doing too great."

"What do you mean?"

"She just seems....off?" Louis tried, "I'm not sure. What happened between you two?"

"Nothing, it's just-" He ran a hand through his hair, as he usually did when he was frustrated, "I-I have to do it again Lou."

"What do you mean?"

"Lydia, she's at it again."

"You mean, another girlfriend? It's not even winter though." Louis chuckled, even though nothing about the situation was funny. He just wanted to lift Harry's spirits a bit. It didn't work, obviously.

"I don't want to do this anymore."

"So don't."

"But...What's the point, I mean, if Reagan doesn't care I should just do it."

"Don't be an arse, Harold. She clearly cares."

"It's just a couple of weeks anyway."

"What, you want to make her jealous? How old are you?"

Harry shrugged uncomfortably, knowing that this wasn't him. He wasn't an asshole. He wouldn't do this to Reagan on purpose, would he?

But he was just so incredibly disappointing. Yeah, he wasn't going to push her to tell him she loved him. But he expected something, anything. God, why couldn't she just tell him not to do it? Does she really not care about him?

"Harold?"

"I'll be there in ten."

—✴—

Harry hadn't run into Reagan before going into the conference room with the boys, and she had left by the time they had finished. He didn't like what was going on, not one bit. But he couldn't call her, couldn't confront her. Not yet. Maybe they just needed some time apart. At least, that's what he told himself. After all, maybe it was his fault, he just kind of blurted out that he loved her, no warning whatsoever. 

"She was probably just tired, been a long day." Louis said, trying to reassure him as they settled into his living room. He looked around suspiciously, scrunching his nose as he looked at everything meticulously. 

"Yeah." Harry said, tipping his bottle back and taking a long swig. 

Louis eyed him, but didn't say a thing.

"What do you think is going to happen?"

"With what?" Louis asked, finally sitting down.

"With everything. You, me, the boys, Rae?"

"It's just a hiatus." Louis shrugged, popping the cap off his own bottle. "We need it. Liam and Niall have no qualms about it."

"Yeah, but, we don't have any contracts lined up."

"So?"

Harry shrugged, "Sometimes it just feels nice to have a safety net. To know that something will always be there waiting for you."

Louis looked at him, "At the risk of sounding like a total fruit, let me just say we don't need a piece of paper to be there for each other. You fucking know that."

Harry reddened slightly, both from the rush of the alcohol hitting his bloodstream and the fact that Louis was actually displaying some kind of affection towards him. It had definitely been a while. After all, they hadn't been this close in what felt like years. Coming over to Louis' twice in a little over a month? He never would have seen it coming. 

"And about, Rae." Louis said, "It'll work itself out."

"Things don't just work themselves out." Harry pouted. 

"Whatever is meant to be just happens. Just go with the flow, Haz. Aren't you the one always spouting that hippy shit?"

"I just..."

"Well, stop. Have a drink, relax, and fix my fucking closet."

Harry chuckled, "Who has a drawer for each brand?"

"Me. I don't like my Adidas things mixing with the others."

"And they call me the weird one."

They both chuckled, until the laughter slowly died down and all that was left was the sounds of them intermittently drinking from their glass bottles. 

"Harry?"

"Yeah."

Louis cleared his throat and put his beer down, eyes darting around the room. This made Harry sit up. That was a classic tell, Louis was about to drop a bomb.

"You remember Briana? 

Harry nodded, "The stylist? That girl you've been hanging out with?" He used the phrase 'hanging out with' lightly. After all, Louis was just now starting to enjoy his life of freedom after breaking up with Eleanor. He'd been 'hanging out with' a few different girls. 

"Yeah."

"What...what about her?"

Louis paused for a second, almost as if trying the words out before actually saying them."She's pregnant."

Harry held his breath, his words coming out in a jumble,"Oh, Lou. God."

Louis swigged the rest of his beer, "Yeah."

"You're-"

"Yeah."

"But you're sure?"

Louis nodded. "I'm the father."


	52. Chapter 52

Harry and Louis had never been the type to get wasted off their asses, but this seemed like the appropriate occasion. After all, Louis was going to be a father and Harry now had two girlfriends. Could there ever be a better thing to celebrate?

"Y-You know what? I'd love to have a boy." Louis said, knocking back his seventh...or eighth, bottle of the night.

"A boy?" Harry mused, his cheeks bright red and his head spinning. He hadn't had quite as many, and still had a slightly better head upon his shoulders in comparison to Louis. That wasn't saying much though.

"Yeah. Girls are too much trouble, the lot of them are. You never know what in the bloody hell they're thinking."

"Like Rae."

"Exactly like Rae."

They each took a swig from their bottles.

"A boy. I-I'm" Louis hiccuped, "I'm still a boy, aren't I."

"You're a man, Lou."

"I don't want to be." He said rather crossly, "I don't want to be an adult."

"You're going to have to be."

"But, I'm only...I'm only." He counted out loud, frustrated at the fact he couldn't come up with his age.

"You're twenty-three, Lou."

"Yeah, I'm twenty-three." He pondered. "Bloody hell, I'm old."

Harry laughed loudly, "No you're not."

"I'm having a baby."

"Technically, Briana is."

Louis still managed to look at him with an unimpressed look upon his face.

"Briana. Huh, I never would have thought she would be the mother of my baby. Always thought it would be Natalie Portman."

"Like she'd ever look your way."

"Hey now, I'm told I'm quite a catch. A couple million girls seem to think so anyway."

"A couple million girls also think we're in love with each other."

Louis slammed his bottle down in pure outrage, "Are you saying we're not!?"

Harry laughed, "What are you saying we are."

"Well, you've never even given me a chance." Louis pouted, scooting closer to Harry.

Harry simply turned to look at him, a smug look upon his flushed face, "Lou, you're drunk."

"Well, if I'm coming onto you, I must be." Louis said, immediately moving back to his side of the couch.

"Wait, are you really-" Harry shook his head and thought better of it, "You know what, never mind."

Louis ended up in a state of half passed out, half awake and incoherently muttering things about not wanting to be an adult. Harry wondered if everyone went through this when they realized they were going to be parents.

But then, thinking about kids made him think about getting married, and getting married made him think about Reagan. Because, if he were ever to question his life at 4am like Louis, he knew he'd never want to do it with anyone other than her.

He didn't blame Louis though, it was sudden. They were about to go on their first long break, and bam, suddenly it's a whole other huge responsibility that sidelines him. He had cursed himself earlier for being so reckless, for just carelessly-and drunkenly-having sex with Briana one night after they had come back from some club. They weren't even together, but at least they were friends. At least she didn't expect him to marry her or to be with her romantically. At least she understood him, and that was all Harry could hope for his friend. After all, a baby was joyous news. Louis would see that after the initial shock wore off.

Harry placed his bottle upon the table and made a point of taking the rest of the beers and placing them back in the fridge. Louis had managed to fall asleep already, far too drunk to even attempt making it to his bed. So it was Harry and his thoughts once more.

All he could think though was that Reagan didn't love him and that maybe he was crazy for being so head over heels for her. But then his phone vibrated and his heart raced when he saw it was a text from Reagan, who surely must've gotten a new phone. And he knew that just because he was crazy for loving her, it didn't mean he was going to stop. Even as he read those dreaded words upon his screen, he knew that they were just a guise.

**We should probably talk**

_y r you still up, it's 3 AM. And I thought your phone was broken? Did you unexpectedly run into some money reagan bailey?_

**Harry, youre up too. And it's Kennedy's old phone. She just got a new one so she gave me this one.**

_oh, aceeeeeeeeeeeee._

**What?**

_Im drunk_

**oh god**

_well not drunk enough, i can still text_

**youre with lou, arent you**

_how did you know_

**when do you ever drink more than 1 beer**

_why does everyone say that. i like drinking. i like beer._

**look, i just think we should talk. when youre sober. so when that happens you can text me back**

_no don't go. louis fell asleep and im lonely._

**how are you still annoying through text**

_its a gift. we can talk now though im not that drunk_

**im falling asleep**

_rae, you're a bad liar_

**you're a terrible drunk**

_fine, go to bed_

**you should too**

_night love you_

He texted it despite the fact he knew she would be flipping out at the moment. He could already picture the blush upon her cheeks and the anxious look upon her face. Tomorrow when she yelled at him for saying he loved her, he'd just blame it on the alcohol. Yes, that sounded good. in fact.

_Rae, when this is all over we're getting married. youll be this amazing pr agent and ill start a smoothie shop here in la. well have three kids kale ann, chiquita marie , and ben. and we'll be happy. i promise you no matter what happens ill love you and well be happy._

He laughed out loud at his own message and hit send. It took a few minutes but she responded,

**i wasnt going to dignify this with an answer, other than to tell you to make sure you take louis' phone away so he doesn't make as big of an ass out himself as you just did, but i should tell you that no sane woman is going to marry you if you plan on naming your kids that**

_what, ben?_

**goodnight harry**

_night rae :)_

Sleep over took him, but not before he took Louis' phone away, Rae was right after all. He fell asleep with a smile upon his dimpled face, dreaming dreams of smoothie shops and curly haired children that were the spitting image of Reagan.

He couldn't help but think that maybe he should drink more often.


	53. Chapter 53

That thought was short-lived though, as Harry realized with a pounding headache that he should most definitely not drink more often. 

He opened his heavy eyes, rubbing his temples and attempting to figure out where in the hell he was. His head was spinning, and god, something was burning. 

"Good morning sunshine."

Harry looked up from the couch to see a smiling Louis. He couldn't even respond, he started gagging at the smell as it was inching closer. He realized it was from the plate of bacon Louis was holding in his hands. 

"Aw, are we not feeling too well today?" Louis smirked, looking at Harry's face and then the plate in his hands. 

"How?" Harry said groggily, not bothering to even sit up, "How are you still alive?" 

"Me? Oh, that was nothing. You had less though, didn't you, Haz? What's wrong, are you a lightweight?" 

Harry could hear the oozing sarcasm in his voice, he would've said something, but the urge to vomit was so strong he had to jump up off the couch and run to the bathroom. He could hear Louis finally laughing in the background, and he made a note to remember that the next Louis got sick. 

As he leaned over the pristine toilet bowl the nauseousness subsided, so he sat back on the tile, his bare feet pressing against the cold floor. His head was still spinning as he leaned back against the wall, and he felt incredibly gross as his hair was matted to his forehead. 

Harry could still hear Louis chuckling outside the door, "You alright, mate? Didn't know rejection made you so queezy."

"I'm fine, dad."

Louis' laughter subsided as he remembered why they had been drinking in the first place. He sigh loudly, and Harry could hear him slump against the wooden door.

"Fuck me." He muttered. It sounded as if he were chewing something, though. 

"Are you eating?" Harry asked. 

"Bacon takes the pain away." Louis said with stuffed mouth.

Harry laughed for the first time that morning, Louis chuckling too even though he was struggling to chew. Harry wanted to open the door so that they could at least suffer together, but he was too week to reach over and grasp the knob. Louis could probably sense that, and in all honesty he didn't care. He wasn't going anywhere. 

"You think we're going to be alright?" Louis asked through the bathroom door, after he had finally swallowed.

"I don't know, Lou. I hope so."

"You know." Louis started, "I was thinking about something."

"What's that?" 

Harry heard Louis struggling to get up, a plate clattering onto the floor, and finally the door opening. 

"What if you didn't have to get another fake girlfriend?" Louis asked, as soon as the door swung open.

Harry tried to get up, but only managed to topple over. Louis rolled his eyes, but gave his friend a hand so that he could stand on his own two feet.

"What do you mean?"

"What if my news totally took the heat off of you and Reagan?"

"You think so?"

Louis made a face, "Really? Do I think the news of my baby is going to possibly outweigh all other news the lot of you have?"

"Okay yeah, I get it. But really, Lou. Are you going to release this already? What, is she like a month, two months along? How do you know it's your-"

Louis shushed him, "Enough of that. Look, I'm going to get you out of this mess."

"And create an even bigger one?"

Louis shrugged, "That's life, mate."

"Lydia's going to kill you."

"Not if she doesn't know who leaked it to the press."

Harry looked at him wearily, "So not only do you plan on creating this mess, but you plan on making it without informing Lydia whatsoever."

"Or Reagan. You can't tell either of them. You just have to go along with whatever Lydia wants for now."

Harry hesitated, "I don't know."

"Harry, they can't know that I leaked it."

"But you are going to tell them that it's true though, right?"

"Well of course. But you know that Lydia wants you in no way to be associated with Reagan right?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah, well, if we leave this in her hands she'll have you still dating that Australian airhead while she spins my story."

"Be nice." He muttered.

"Look, all I'm saying is that if I do this my way, she'll be so preoccupied with me that she'll have no time to focus on you." 

"But I can't tell Rae?"

Louis shook his head, "You know she'll want me to tell Lydia, besides, didn't she tell you to just listen?"

Harry hesitated, "But..."

"I know things are weird between you two right now, but weren't you contemplating do this anyway just to spite her last night?"

"I thought no such thing!"

"Okay, to make her jealous then."

"I-I..."

"Look, you want Reagan to realize if she wants to be with you, or not?" 

Harry shook his head, it was just so manipulative. This was not him, not at all. He didn't want to make her realize that she loved him, he wanted her to figure it out on his own. He had been childish, and stupid, and fuck his moral compass was just so rigid that he wouldn't possibly consider Louis' offer, would he?

"What if she finds out?" Harry asked.

"We tell her the truth."

"You don't think she'll be mad!?"

Louis shrugged, "Do you want to escape Lydia's grasp? Do you want to really be with Reagan?"

Harry nodded.

"If Lydia's distracted with me, she can't stop you from doing as you please, can she?"

Harry didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do. 

"You think this is the only way?" He asked.

Louis nodded, "If you ever want to be with Reagan, it probably is."

"Just one date with Hailey, right? Just one and you'll leak your story?" 

Louis nodded, "Just one."

"Okay, let's do it."


	54. Chapter 54

Reagan awoke slightly confused, but at least in her own bed. She turned on her side, yawning lazily, only to see Kennedy sleeping beside her peacefully. She rolled her sleepy eyes but didn't mind. Kennedy had probably come in sometime after 3 am when Reagan had finally passed out. Kennedy used to have a really bad habit of always wanting to sleep with her older sister, it used to bother Reagan, but today she needed the company.

"Kenz?" Reagan whispered.

Kennedy stirred but didn't respond. Reagan huffed, not caught between wanting to let Kennedy sleeping and needing urgent advice. She figured Kennedy wouldn't be too mad if she woke her up to talk about her and Harry though.

"Kenz!?"

"What!?" Kennedy said, clearly frustrated.

"I need to talk to you about something."

"What, it couldn't wait til a decent hour?" Kennedy asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's noon."

"I went to bed at six."

"Why?"

Kennedy shrugged, "Started watching a new show, got caught up and didn't realize what time it was."

"Whatever." Reagan said, sitting up and leaning against her headrest, "Look, I kind of need some advice."

Kennedy sat up immediately, the sleepy look upon her face disapearing completely, "About what."

"About, um, Harry."

"What about him?" Kennedy asked, trying to keep her cool.

Reagan sighed, not wanting to tell Kennedy, but not really having any other choice. She was at the end of her rope. This whole Harry thing was getting out of control. She had no idea what in the hell she was doing anymore, especially not after what he had said the day before.

"I...I think I messed up."

"Why?"

Reagan cleared her throat, "Look, I'm telling you this because I trust you, I swear to God if someone finds out about this Kennedy-"

"Rae, please."

"You know how Lydia was going to talk to us yesterday?"

Kennedy nodded.

"Well, she came up with a strategy as to how to make people not think that Harry and I are dating."

"Okay?"

"She's basically flying Harry in a new girlfriend."

"What!? I knew it! I knew his relationships were all for publicity!"

"You don't know that they all were." Reagan mumbled.

"He doesn't seem like the type that goes for superficical airheads, Rae."

"That's beside the point."

"No, you're right. What did he say?"

"He said that he wasn't going to do it."

"What, so your boss know that you guys are dating?"

"No, god. No. Do you think I'd still have a job?"

"Okay, wait, so he said he wasn't going to do it. What's the problem."

Reagan hesitated, "The problem is that I told him to do it."

"Are you out of your mind!? You're making him date someone else!?"

"He's not dating her! You just said it's for publicity!"

"Still!" Kennedy sighed, shaking her head, "What did he say?"

"He um...he told me he loved me."

"OH MY GOD!" Kennedy exclaimed, falling back onto the bed, squealing and kicking around. Reagan just rubbed her temples. Kennedy was right, it was way too early for this.

"He said he loved you?" She said when she finally calmed down and sat back up, "You said it back right?"

Reagan shook her head, "How could I?"

Kennedy's face suddenly became serious, "Do you...not?"

Reagan avoided looking at her sister's prying eyes, knowing that the moment she looked up Kennedy would know the answer.

"You do, don't you. That's why you're doing that thing where you ignore me, right?"

Reagan looked up, "What am I going to do? I fucked up so bad Kennedy. He was drinking last night! I made Harry Styles get drunk!"

"He was drunk?" Kennedy said with a chuckle, "I would've loved to see that."

Reagan cracked a smile, "He was texting me."

"Was he? See, you're overreacting."

"You think?"

"He's not a bad guy, Rae. He probably just thinks you aren't ready to say it yet. I mean that's understandable. Maybe he just got so wrapped up in his own emotions that he blurted it out."

"Yeah, kind of just did."

"Exactly. So you were taken aback, that's totally a legit reason to not say it back."

"Yeah?"

Kennedy nodded, "Do you love him, Rae?"

Reagan blushed, her pulse increasing as she thought of his big smile and glittering eyes, "Yeah. I do."

"Then go tell that hungover idiot that you love him, don't waste another fucking minute."

"Kenz-"

"No! Stop making excuses! If you love him, you have to tell him. You know how he feels, you know that he loves you. What's the problem?"

"What if he gets bored of me? What if he realizes that I'm not the kind of girl for him?"

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"I'm no Taylor Swift."

"I think that's a good thing."

Reagan rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious. He chose you because of who you are, not because of what you look like. Although I'm sure that was a huge plus."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious. You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Look, regardless, I can't just run to him and say 'Harry I love you'"

"Why not?"

"Seriously?"

"Didn't he just blurt it out? God, Rae. For once in your life stop overthinking things, just fucking go tell him you love him!"

Every cell in Reagan's body agreed with Kennedy, as much as she didn't want to. Last night, he might have been drunk, but she had a feeling that everything he had said he had thought when he was sober. What if he did see a future with her? What if he really did love her? She would never know unless she finally just told him she felt the same way, would she? And, after all, he did already tell her that he loved her. He couldn't reject her if she said the same, right?

She got up from the bed, throwing the covers aside.

Kennedy furrowed her brow, "Where are you going? Weren't we talking?"

Reagan smiled slightly, "I have a hungover idiot to go visit."


	55. Chapter 55

After being dropped off at his home, Harry found himself rather restless. All he kept thinking about was the fact that he had to lie to Reagan. But in the end, didn't the lie help them finally be together? He wanted to think so. He wanted to believe that Louis was right, and that he would help Harry fix this mess. After all, he knew Louis' intentions were good. All he wanted was for Harry to be happy, for all the boys to be happy for that matter. And if he got to screw over management while doing so, it just made everything that much sweeter.

Harry peeled off his shirt and put on his most comfortable pair of joggers before he even did anything else. His plan was to sleep off his hangover after eating so much at Louis', but sleep just didn't want to come. It didn't matter how exhausted and disgusting his body felt, everything he closed his eyes they just sprung back open.

He started being lulled to sleep by the sound of the ceiling fan though, it was hypnotizing him. Surprisingly, it truly calmed him. And just as his eyes began fluttering closed, his phone vibrated.

 **Harry**?

He smiled, not even minding that Reagan interrupted his much needed sleep. They had never texted so much, Reagan was more of the single reply kind of girl, at least towards Harry she was.

_whats up?_

**are you still at Louis'?**

_no im at home_.

**you live in Beverly Hills right? at the address in the contact book?**

_reagan bailey, are you stalking me?_

**don't flatter yourself. I just need to talk to you.**

_at my house? the same house you refused to come to not so long ago?_

**Harry, please.**

He furrowed his brow, it must have been serious if Reagan was willing to go all the way to him. He stomach turned a bit, thinking about what he and Louis had talked about earlier. He still had to tell Reagan, and now would be a better time than later, wouldn't it?

_Yeah, its the same address. you can come, ill be here all day._

**I'll come by in a bit, I have to run some errands first. See you soon.**

And with that Harry finally did fall into a dreamless sleep.

—✴—

Reagan arrived at Harry's house surprisingly quickly considering how much her hands had been shaking as she held the steering wheel. Kennedy had insisted on driving upon seeing Reagan's face pale the moment she reached for the car keys, but Reagan knew that this was something she had to do on her own.

She buzzed in, knowing that Harry must've been eagerly awaiting her. Which proved to be true because the moment she buzzed the gate opened almost magically.

His house was massive, something only a pop star could ever possibly afford. The more she looked at the house though, the more it reminded her of Louis'. It was almost too big, surely too big for Harry on his own. Sure, the exterior was astounding with its almost regal arches and ostentatious decor, but what about the interior? Surely it was much too big for one person. She could imagine how lonely he must feel coming home to an empty house.

As she bounded towards the door, almost tripping up the steps from nerves, Harry opened it before she could even ring the bell.

He smiled, "Welcome to my humble little home, Rae."

Reagan scoffed, "Right." She walked into the house and it was definetly way to big for just Harry. In fact, the house didn't even look lived in.

Harry watched as Reagan came in, her body radiating anxiety. He tried to withhold his chuckle, knowing better than to laugh at her uncomfort. But it was rather funny, after all, she had made such a big deal about never coming over to his house. And here she was.

Reagan fiddled with the sleeves of her cardigan, looking down at the wooden floor. Harry cleared his throat, "You said you wanted to talk? We can go into the living room." He said pointing towards the large room adjacent to the hallway.

"Um, yeah. I'm not staying long, I just..."

"We need to talk, right?" Harry said, his own stomach filling with anxiety at the fact that he had to lie to Reagan.

"Yeah, yeah we do."

She shifted her weight from one foot to another, and suddenly got the feeling that her clothes were too tight on her. She wanted pull her shirt down farther, maybe pull her pants up a little. And god, she was so thirsty. She could feel her throat closing up on her. She hadn't felt that uncomfortable since the day she met Harry. It wasn't even that long ago. How could she possibly be there, about to tell him that she loved him. Had she even known him that long? Did he even know her? But then, she knew all those things shouldn't matter, because if you love someone you just know. And she did know, it didn't matter how much she fought it, she knew that the first day she knocked Harry out cold that he'd be in her life forever. She knew that she would love him til the end of her days. She didn't want to accept it, but she knew, she always knew.

Harry watched as Reagan started turning a slight shade of pink, which then turned into red, and then even redder. He didn't think she could possibly turn any redder, but then she proved wrong."Rae, it's okay. Bloody hell, just take a breath."

She breathed in and out, heavily. Harry immediately went to go get her a cup of water, worried that she would pass out. She followed him slowly into his large, shiny kitchen.

He handed her a glass within seconds and as she drank he asked, "Is this about what happened with Lydia?"

Reagan, still greedily gulping out of her glass, couldn't respond.

"God of course it is." Harry said, leaning back against, "That was a fucking stupid question."

"No, it wasn't." She said, putting the glass down and attempting to calm herself down, "It's not a stupid question. But yeah, I mean, that's what we were going to talk about last night, wasn't it?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah."

She pulled at her cardigan again, avoiding his eyes, "Harry, you know what you told me that day?" Her voice shook, "You know how you said, you um, that you..."

"Rae, you don't have to-" He said, already embarrassed at the fact that he hadn't gotten so mad over the fact that she couldn't tell him that she loved him. He regretted even saying it to her in that way. He shouldn't have ambushed her, it just made things so much worse. "It was-"

"I-" She stuttered. Clearing her throat, "I know you wanted me to say it back, I-"

"No!" He said defensively, "You don't have to. You don't have to until you're ready. I was an arse, Rae, I'm sorry."

"No, but I-I wanted to-"

"I know what you said that day was because you had my best interest at heart." He interrupted, not even understanding the gravity of what Reagan was about to say. "I'm going to do as you want and listen to Lydia." He breathed out nervously, "I'm going public with that Hailey girl."

Regan felt her stomach turn, she didn't think it was possibly to feel so much pain in her body in one single moment. She was convinced she hadn't heard right, "What?"

Harry shrugged, now completely ignoring her stare. He knew it was for the best, that he had to do this. But he hadn't expected for Reagan to look so hurt. It was what she wanted, wasn't it? It wasn't as if this whole thing was real. He loved Reagan, not that Australian girl he hadn't even met. And he could tell her about Louis, it wasn't his story to tell. He just had to do what as in the interest of all of them, even if it was going to hurt for a little while.

"Tomorrow I'm going to talk to Lydia, I'm going to tell her that it's fine. That I'll go public with the Australian pop star."

Reagan tried to compose herself, to make it look as if she wasn't falling apart on the inside. It was her idea after all, her stupid, fucking idea, "Oh." She managed to utter, "Good. That's what I came here for."

"To convince me?"

Reagan nodded, holding back tears, "Yeah, of course. I mean, we can't um, we can't have people thinking we're together."

Harry nodded, feeling a little pang of guilt at the way her voice cracked. He couldn't help but think that perhaps she had come for a completely different reason, "Rae, did you...did you want to talk about anything else?"

She shook her head, "No I just wanted to stop by and talk about this. But now that I didn't have to convince you, then I guess I could've done it over the phone."

She started walking towards the door, Harry close behind saying "Rae, you don't have to go. Stay? Please?"

Reagan shook her head, "I can't. I promised Kennedy I'd drop her off at a friend's house." She lied, "I didn't think this would take long."

Harry nodded, not wanting to overstep, "Oh, alright. Well, you know where I live now."

She gave him a forced smile, "Yeah, I do."

He tried to give her a hug, but Reagan in her stupor didn't realize the fact, and it turned into a painfully awkward type of pat on the back that she could have lived without.

As she walked back to her car and opened the door, there she finally allowed herself to say it, "I love you, Harry. I-" But that's as far as she got before dissolving into tears. She had fucked up big time, and she didn't know how to fix it.


	56. Chapter 56

By some work of magic, the boys were busy the next few days shooting promos, and had no need for Reagan. Thus Lydia told her she could do her work remotely, and Reagan was in no state to refuse. In fact, she had been wrapped in her comforter with a tub of ice cream for the past four hours. Her mother said nothing when she reached for the tub earlier, in fact, the fridge had been restocked with four new tubs even though they were specifically on a low-carb, low-sugar diet. Her mother hadn't said a word all day, actually. Which Reagan knew meant that Kennedy had opened her mouth, once again. 

Kennedy of course had been the one who had consoled Reagan for hours after she had come home. Reagan wasn't the type to cry, or to feel emotions, really. She hated the fact that she was so incredibly vulnerable to Harry. She hated the fact that she was about to open herself up to him, knowing damn well that she had stopped doing that long ago. 

After crying for about four hours straight, Reagan had made Kennedy swear that she wouldn't tell their mother what had happened, not after she had pathetically spent the entire night sobbing. But of course, Kennedy must have told her because since when has Kennedy ever been able to keep a secret from their mother? And then did her father know as well? Reagan was a little irked, but at the same time, she just didn't care. All she cared about was the fact that she was almost hitting the bottom of the carton, which made her smirk ironically because, god, it was like the carton was a metaphor for her life. She was hitting rock bottom after all. 

Kennedy conveniently peeked her head into the room just then, just to make sure Reagan was still alive. Upon seeing her sister still in the position as hours ago, she asked, "Rae? You okay?"

Reagan looked up from the computer screen she was staring at and nodded her head, "Cookie dough can only do so much though."

"Don't underestimate the power of cookie dough ice cream, Rae." 

Reagan rolled her eyes and put her spoon aside, "You told mom, didn't you?"

"Not everything."

"But she knows?"

Kennedy crossed her arms, "Well, you've been hiding in here and sulking for like two days, what else am I going to tell her? She knows it's about Harry."

Reagan sighed loudly, "What about dad?"

Kennedy shrugged, "I don't think he's noticed. Some big project coming up, he's been out of the house a lot."

As much as it used to bother Reagan that her father was never around, today she was grateful that he wasn't. After what had happened with all the fans in front of their house, she was sure that her father would never forgive her if he found out she actually was kind of involved with Harry. But then that made her wonder if she still was, after all he was going to be "dating" that Hailey girl now. And that sunk her into an even greater depression.

Kennedy noticed her older sister's mood shift and sat upon the corner of her bed, "Hey, at least those fans stopped stalking you."

"For now." Reagan said, her shoulders slumping.

"Never thought we'd have to have security sit outside the house."

"It's just for a few days." 

'You're actually rationalizing it?" Kennedy asked, "Something must be wrong with you."

Reagan shrugged. 

"Well," Kennedy said, leaning back against Reagan's pillow, "Maybe dad did overreact. He doesn't know that you guys are dating, and in the papers it's just like they're sensationalizing the fact that you two were seen together, you know? I mean, nothing in those pictures could technically imply that you two were together. So you're friends, so what?"

Kennedy looked at Reagan, but Reagan had reverted back into picking at the nearly empty carton and had lost interest in the conversation. 

"Rae?"

"Yeah, I'm listening." Reagan responded.

"So...what are you guys?"

Reagan didn't even hesitate, "I don't know."

"Hasn't he talked to you?"

"Um, yeah. We've texted, but it's really awkward. I don't know. I just don't-"

"Don't wanna deal with it?"

Reagan nodded. 

"Yeah well, you're going to have to."

"He's going to be gone until the day after tomorrow."

"So you're saying you're not going to deal with it?"

"I'm saying I don't have to right now."

"Rae." Kennedy pleaded.

But Reagan didn't budge, she was just so fucking tired. Lydia hadn't sent her much work, not an overwhelming amount anyway. There was only one thing on that to-do list that she didn't have the heart to do. In fact, it made her want to go get another tub of ice cream.

"What?" Kennedy asked as she saw her sister's mind roam elsewhere once more. 

Reagan shook her head. 

"Are you just going to sit here and eat ice cream?" 

"I'm also doing work." Reagan said, spoon sticking out of her mouth. 

"One Direction stuff?"

"Um, yeah."

"Like what."

Reagan let out a loud sigh, her throat closing up a bit as she said, "Booking a ticket."

"For who, the boys? I thought their managers took care of th-"

"Um, no, actually."

"Then for who?"

It killed Reagan to even say it, the audacity of Lydia having assigned her this task. She didn't think Lydia was an unreasonable or spiteful woman, but having seen it in text, having actually had to complete what had been asked of her, she was beginning to wonder about her boss. 

"Rae?"

"Yeah?" Reagan replied, obviously having been lost in thought, again.

"Who is the ticket for?"

Reagan sighed again, trying to hold back her tears. She couldn't cry, not anymore. This was happening and she needed to suck it up. 

"It's for Hailey. She's coming here in a few days."


	57. Chapter 57

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Reagan, it was just that he didn't know what to say. He had been pacing in his room, back and forth, phone in his hand, for the past hour. Something was amiss, he could feel it. Yet he felt powerless against it.

The boys had been back from shooting for a few days now but Harry had yet to see Reagan. It wasn't until that morning they were most likely to meet again, and even then it was only because it was everyone's first day back in the studio in a while. He didn't like the fact though that they were only going to see each other because it was required. Harry wanted it to be like before so badly. 

"Are we going to be late again?" Louis chirped from the other side of Harry's house. 

The pair had taken to spending a lot of time together since Louis had hatched his plan, in fact, Louis hadn't gone back to his house in about a week. Not that Harry minded, his house had been too empty for far too long. 

"No, I'm ready," Harry said, nervously slipping his phone back into his pocket, hearing Louis' footsteps coming down the hall and closer to him.

Louis conveniently walked in too see Harry guiltily looking up at him and patting his back pant pocket, "Seriously? Again? Grow a pair, Haz. Just call her already."

Harry shook his head, "She's not going to want to talk to me."

"Haven't you two been talking the past few days?"

"Yesterday I literally said 'Nice weather we're having' because we just can't seem to hold a conversation." Harry sighed, "I don't know what happened. We were just....we were doing so well."

"You think it's because you told her you were going to do the whole Hailey thing?"

"But she wanted me to do it. I mean, honestly, would it make sense for her to be offended?"

Louis shook his head, "You still don't understand women, do you?"

"Louis, I just don't think she's that kind of girl. You have met Reagan right?"

"Gee, have I?" Louis asked sarcastically.

Harry ignored him, "I think she's turning back into the Reagan I met, Lou. All this time, all this progress we've made in our relationship...it's like it's all been for nothing."

"Relationship?"

Harry shrugged, "I mean, that's what it is, isn't it. It may not be official, but we have a relationship together. Or, at least, we did."

Louis rolled his eyes, "You're just being dramatic, God. Didn't she come over to your house before we left? That's a pretty big step forward, maybe it just overwhelmed her, mate."

"But..I think she came over to tell me something."

"Did she?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I ended up just talking over her. I blurted out the whole fake girlfriend thing."

"What did she say before you talked over her?"

"She just wanted to talk about what had happened with Lydia."

"Nothing else?"

"Well, maybe about how I told her I loved her." Harry said, almost in a whisper from the embarrassment. 

Louis smirked, "And?"

"I assured her that it was okay that she didn't say it back."

"And?"

"And then I told her that I was going public with Hailey."

"And that was it?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, she left right after I told her."

"Do you think she would have stayed longer?"

Harry shook his head, "No, she said she had to drive Kennedy somewhere."

Louis pulled out his phone, "Why don't we just ask Kennedy what happened?"

"You think she'll tell us?"

"She'll tell me."

Harry looked at him wearily, "You don't fancy Kennedy do you?"

Louis pulled a pained face, "Seriously? She's Lottie's age, you fucking wanker. We're friends, that's it."

Harry felt a little guilty for even saying what he had, but he knew that Kennedy had been infatuated with Louis, and he wasn't a fan of his mate manipulating her feelings to get information.

"Harold, she doesn't even fancy me anymore." Louis said as he typed away. 

"No?"

"Nah. She's over it." Louis hit send and looked up at Harry, "You ready to go, or what?"

—✴—

As Harry walked back into the studio for the first time in a while he expected the usual calm to wash over him, but it didn't. His stomach was in knots, and it wasn't just because he was about to see Reagan for the first time since they'd had their last weird encounter. 

"Mate!" Liam yelled from down the hall, "I finished that song I was working on."

Harry smiled genuinely, "I can't wait to hear it."

"Couldn't have finished it without you." Liam said, squeezing Harry's shoulder, "We have to go though, Lydia's waiting for us."

"Is um...Reagan here yet?"

Liam shook his head, "Didn't Lydia tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Reagan didn't come in this morning, she went to the airport."

"For what?"

Liam grimaced, realizing that in fact no one had told Harry, "To pick up Hailey."


	58. Chapter 58

Per usual, Reagan was extremely early. She found herself waiting inside her car, waiting for Hailey's plane to land. Her fingers anxiously tapped against the steering wheel, then the dashboard. She couldn't keep still. The dark and damp parking garage was not helping her current mood either, in fact it made her feel claustrophobic. So much so that she had to get out of the car and lean against it to try to catch her breath. She was convinced this was the beginning of a panic attack. She hadn't had one in years, but she was sure that one was looming in her future. 

The minutes passed by almost too quickly, and even though all Reagan wanted to do was stop time, she couldn't. All she kept thinking was how she had fucked up, and now she was here, acting as a delivery girl. She was literally bringing Harry his new "girlfriend", how twisted was that? 

Reagan looked at her phone and winced, it was time. She had to walk to the terminal, she had to face this girl. She was just a girl after all, she wasn't even famous yet. She was a fucking person, just a person. Reagan knew she shouldn't be getting so worked up. Hailey knew this was business, Harry knew this was business, nothing bad could happen. After all, it was most likely Hailey who proposed this, it wasn't like it was Harry. She knew that as stupid as he may act sometimes, that he did feel something for her. That maybe one day he could love her, and if that were to happen, well they could surpass something like this easily. 

As her heels clacked upon the linoleum leading up to the baggage claim, Reagan attempted to give herself another pep talk, one much like the one she had given herself the day she had met Harry. She kept telling herself that she could do this. That Hailey was just a girl after all, just like her. Hailey was there to do her job, like Reagan, and she could respect that. She didn't even know her after all, maybe she would like her.

Her thoughts continued running rampant as she stood in front of the baggage claim. She wondered if Hailey was even that good looking. Not that it matters, Harry could care less. He liked her after all, her of all people. But still if Hailey was on the plainer side, it would just make things easier. Reagan knew she was a terrible person for thinking such things, but her heart and her ego would not be able to take it if Hailey was as perfect as Lydia described her to be. 

She was startled as the conveyor belt turned on and it started to plop out suitcase after suitcase. She saw people collecting their items, and couldn't help but wonder if Hailey was in fact one of them. Lydia had said to look for a tall brunette, but Reagan saw no one as of yet fitting this description. 

That is until she saw her, a leggy goddess with flowing chestnut hair walking towards her. How how she wished she was exaggerating, but there was no better way to describe the perfect looking girl that was headed straight in her direction. 

"Reagan?" She asked in a thick Aussie accent. "I recognize you from those tabloid pictures." She smiled showing perfect teeth and extending her hand in a friendly gesture, "I'm Hailey Routh."

But the moment Reagan smiled back and took Hailey's cold, clammy hand, she felt something amiss. She blamed it on the fact that perhaps she was teeny bit shaken up by this girl, "Nice to meet you." She said clearing her throat, "Your flight was alright?"

Hailey smirked, "Yeah, sure. Nothing more that I enjoy than fourteen hour flights." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder as she looked at the conveyor belt before them. Reagan immediately felt stupid for even asking the question, of course her flight wasn't going to be alright. Yet as Reagan dwelled, Hailey impatiently watched suitcase after suitcase come out

"Did you see a Louis Vuitton set?" She asked Reagan. 

Reagan shook her head.

"I swear to god if they lost my luggage." She muttered under her breath. 

"They do that a lot?"

Hailey shrugged, "It's happened to me once. But I don't usually travel."

"Have to get used to it if you want to be famous." Reagan said with a slight smile.

"Do I also have to get used to the forced relationships?"

Reagan smirked, "Harry wrote the book on those, you can ask him."

Hailey giggled, making Reagan peek at her. She couldn't be more than twenty. In fact, she couldn't have been in the business for long. 

"Is he nice?" Hailey asked. 

"Yeah." Reagan nodded, "Good guy."

"I figured."

"How?"

Hailey smiled, "Who else wouldn't mind getting photographed with their assistant, and being romantically linked to them. No offense, but you don't look like his type at all."

"Oh?" Reagan said, trying not to let it sound as if Hailey's comment stung her, "He has a type then?"

Hailey smiled, and Reagan couldn't help but think how incredibly evil she looked in that very moment, "Well, they didn't fly me in for no reason. No offense Reagan, I'm sure you don't mind I say this, but you don't look like Harry's type. I mean let's be honest, if Harry needed the PR they wouldn't have flown me all the way from Australia if he had someone here so close to him." 

Hailey said it as if it were just so matter of fact, that Reagan didn't know whether she was being insulted or not. Of course she was, but Hailey's tone of voice, her body language, and her non-chalantness made it seem as if she were making innocent conversation.

"Oh, look!" Hailey said excitedly, "There's my luggage!"

"Great." Reagan said, arms crossed in front of her chest as she watched Hailey run towards her bags, "Just great."


	59. Chapter 59

Harry didn't know what to expect. He paced from corner to corner, the boys reading how tense he felt. He knew that Hailey was going to arrive soon, and he was expecting the very worse. In fact, all he could think was that it was going to be a total disaster just as it had been the last few times that he had been forced to take a girlfriend. Honestly the only time it wasn't was because the girl was actually not interested in him at all...since she had a girlfriend. Which was nice, because they got along great. They still talk, actually.

But the others, they were anything but ideal. Taylor for example. He was so young when they had imposed her on him, and how could he say no? The moment he saw her from across the room, he knew from the way her bright blue eyes pierced his that everything was going to change. She was beautiful, she was so incredibly different. He thought she was going to be anything but what she had turned out to be. He could've loved her, and that was the problem. He should've never even considered it. To mix any kind of feelings with this type of deal ruined everything. That he learned the hard way.

Taylor was perfect for his image, but she ruined him. He was no longer Harry after they parted ways, he was another name on a long list of ex-lovers. Another fucking heart breaker. 

And the rest? The rest just perpetuated the idea that he was a player, a womanizer. He hated it. It didn't matter that none of it was real, Taylor's album, Kendall's breakdown, Caroline's book, they all told a different story. They all painted a picture of him that he just couldn't erase. And what was Hailey going to do, just add on to it?

"Will you fucking sit down?" Louis said, looking up from his newspaper.

"Since when do you read?" Harry asked, still pacing.

"My phone died."

"That explains it." Harry replied, Niall laughed loudly. 

"Could you please just sit. You're going to wear a trail into the floor. I can literally see a path from the window to the wall."

"Isn't that a song?" Niall asked. 

"What song is that?" Liam said, looking up from his notebook.

"That rap? From the window to the wall, to the sweat drops down my-"

"I get it!" Liam said, cutting Niall off with a chuckle. 

Harry rolled his eyes and continued pacing.

Louis got up from his seat and walked over to Harry, quite done with watching his mate walk around like a zombie.

"Look, Harold. you need to get a grip."

"I can't do this again."

"Yes you can. It's just a little while."

"But..."

"But what?"

"What if she's like the rest. What if she's worse?"

"Who could be worse than the girl who wrote an entire album about you and capitalized off your fake romance?"

"The one who destroys me and Reagan."

Louis grimaced, "Give Rae some credit. She knows better than to buy into this."

Harry slumped his shoulders, "You think?"

Louis chuckled, "Harry, you two are so smitten with each other, do you really think this is going to fuck it up? Snap out of it, mate. Have a little faith in your girl."

Harry smiled at that, it felt nice to hear Reagan referred to as his girl. 

"Oi!" Niall yelled from the door, "They're here!"

Harry made a weird sound, almost like a yelp, prompting Louis to slap him, "Get it together, Harold!"

As Harry rubbed his cheek, he heard heels clacking down the hall, the sound coming closer and closer. God, how he wanted all of this to be over already.

—✴—

Hailey reapplied her lipstick for the fifth time as they got into the elevator. Reagan rolled her eyes, already sick of this pretentious, wannabe, starlet. 

"I have to look perfect." Hailey said, turning to look at Reagan, "Is my hair okay?"

Reagan avoided looking at her head on, convinced that if she did it would unnerve her, "Yeah."

"You didn't even look at me."

"Yes I did."

Hailey huffed, "Fine."

The elevator dinged, just in time.

As they got off, Hailey looked around, clearly not impressed. 

"My studio in Australia has much better lighting. I look terrible in this light." She said, looking at her hands.

Just when Reagan thought it couldn't be possible that this girl could be any more self-centered.

"Is this where you guys spend most of your time?"

Reagan nodded.

"So I have to stay here too?"

"Well, not really. I mean, you're just here for PR..."

"Are you trying to say that the only time I'll see Harry is when he needs me for a photo-op?"

"No."

"Because I'm sure he'll want to see me much more than that."

Reagan tried so hard not to roll her eyes. This girl was unbelievable. She couldn't be twenty, could she? She had to be younger. With the way she handled herself, Reagan was sure she was about Kennedy's age. Hell, even Kennedy had a better head on her shoulders. 

"The room is just down the hall." Reagan said, ignoring Hailey's statement.

"So Harry is in there?"

"The rest of the boys are as well."

Hailey fluffed up her hair, "Perfect."

Her heels clacked loudly, her strut easily looking like one that belonged on a runway. Reagan couldn't keep up with her.

"Wait." She tried, but Hailey had beaten her to the door. 

Reagan was so sure that once the boys saw this side of her, that they'd feel just as she did. Frustrated, angry, annoyed, and it had only been about an hour. One hour and she was done with this Hailey girl. 

Hailey surprisingly didn't open the door though, she just stood beside it, waiting for Reagan to open it. 

Reagan looked at her, confusion clearly upon her face. 

"I can't just go in announced. You have to state that I'm here."

"What?"

"I have to make an entrance, this is the first time Harry is meeting me, it has to be memorable."

She was insane, Reagan was sure of it. But she wouldn't fight her on it, she was just too tired, "Whatever." She mumbled as she pushed open the door, clearly in anger. 

The force of the door had thrown onto the floor a stunned Niall who had been pressed up against the wooden surface, attempting to catch a glimpse of Harry's new "girlfriend". She was instantly reminded of how she had knocked Harry out cold the first day she had met him. 

"Fuck." Niall muttered, rubbing his head and Liam helped him up. 

Louis laughed, making no effort to help out the Irishman still sitting upon the floor. 

Reagan cleared her throat, ignoring the other boys, and looking past Harry as she announced, "Hailey has arrived."

At that Hailey stepped into the room, as if she hadn't been waiting for Reagan to introduce her. Niall's mouth dropped, Liam had to close it shut with his hand. Louis' eyes widened a tad. But Harry? His face remained as worried as it had been before Louis had slapped him across the face. 

"Harry?" Hailey said approaching him. 

Reagan noted how her voice had changed, it now had a very girlish tone. Her stomach turned as she realized what she was doing. 

"Hi." He said stepping towards her, but stopping about arms length apart. He extended his hand, "Harry Styles."

Hailey looked at him bashfully, a blush in her cheeks that was indicative of a sweet, innocent girl. A shyness in her that so perfectly hid her true intentions, "I'm Hailey." 

Reagan couldn't look, she just couldn't. She didn't want to see the moment that Harry realized that right before him, stood a girl who looked like she belonged with him. This girl, she was going to pretend to be someone completely different around him. She was going to make herself into the girl that Harry needed. 

And Reagan wasn't sure she could compete with that.


	60. Chapter 60

After about twenty minutes of painfully awkward banter, Hailey was finally taken into Lydia's office. To say Harry was relieved would be an understatement. Hailey was just a tad too overbearing, too nice. That coming from him was saying a lot. There was just something that slightly unsettled him about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it though. But he wanted to reserve his judgment. Maybe Hailey was a nice girl and she was just nervous. After all, the first time he met Reagan she knocked him out cold. First impressions aren't always everything.

Thinking of Reagan he looked across the room at her, she was typing away on her laptop, undoubtedly tweaking some things for the album.

He walked over and leaned over her shoulder, she shifted uncomfortably.

"That looks ace." He muttered, looking at pictures from the shoot she was planning on using for the promo. She had already started putting their logo on it. 

"Well, all I did was edit them a tad." She said, her cheeks flushing.

"Still look better than before."

She nodded, "Thanks."

The tension between them was unbelievable considering how close they had been just a few weeks ago. Louis looked at them uncomfortably, wishing that things could just go back to normal. Not just for Harry, but for him as well. 

Louis still didn't know how to quite take the news of him being a father. It hadn't sunk in yet. It just wasn't something he ever thought would happen right now. He was so young, Briana was just his friend. He could never see himself loving her, really loving her. He didn't look at her the way Harry looked at Reagan, no, he looked at her as his friend. And now, as his companion on this new journey they were about to embark on. 

But looking at Harry and Reagan in that instant just made Louis want to strangle Harry. It made him forget everything else that was happening in his life at that moment. Why? Because it was just so fucking painful to watch Harry attempt small talk. How one human being could be so charming yet so incredibly awkward baffled him.

"Ah, just let them be, Tommo." Liam said, not even turning from his writing but knowing that Louis was sturying the pair, "Harry needs to just get it all out on the table."

"Get what on the table?" Niall asked, leaning forward in his chair, attempting to catch a glimpse of Hailey inside of Lydia's office. 

Louis rolled his eyes.

"He needs to just clear the air." Liam tried.

Niall furrowed his brow "What? Did he let one rip?"

Louis covered his face with his tattooed hand, "Really, Niall?"

"What?"

"They need to talk. That's it. They need to talk and get over whatever it is that's making them act so weird." Liam said, looking up from his journal and looking directly at Niall, a great deal of frustration etched upon his face.

Niall shrugged, "Just say that."

Liam was about to say something, but Louis held up his hand, "Just let it go, mate."

"What's up with them anyway. Is it because of Hailey?" Liam asked.

Louis nodded, "Well it all started when Lydia said she was coming to the states, didn't it?"

"So Reagan and Harry are a thing right?" Niall asked. 

"We established this already." Liam replied.

"Yeah, but they don't act like it."

"Are you kidding me, look at the stupid look on his face. He's completely smitten." Liam said, a tad too loudly.

"His face always looks like that." Louis retorted, jokingly.

"No but really, if he and Reagan are a thing, then how is she okay with the whole Hailey thing? Hailey's fucking fit, mate. Tight little body on her." Niall said, almost falling out of his chair attempting to see the object of his newly found appreciation.

Louis shook his head, "You know Harry's never been into his winter girlfriends."

"It's spring, almost summer."

"Doesn't change the fact she was practically bought for him."

Niall shrugged, "All I care is that I have a chance with that."

Liam rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay."

"What, you don't think I have a chance."

"I think we all know who she came here for." Liam said, turning back to his writing.

"But he's taken."

"Oh Niall, you haven't learned anything about women, have you?" Louis mused.

"If Harry loves Reagan, and Reagan loves Harry, isn't that just the end of it?"

Liam chuckled, "If it were that fucking easy mate, we wouldn't make a living off of writing songs about love would we?"

"They should just get on with it. You think they've messed around yet? Bet you they haven't. Hazza's too much of whimp." Niall quipped.

"Oh, leave him alone. He's a romantic." Liam replied.

"He's a pussy. I would've taken Reagan already and shown her-"

"Shown me what Niall?" Reagan said, standing over them, hands on her hips. Harry stood behind her, trying so hard not to laugh.

"I would have...shown you the world?"

"Nice try." She said, throwing a stack of papers on the table before them. "Alright." she said, trying to get the boys to pay attention to her, "We have approximately six months until the album comes out."

"Which is almost finished." Liam said, high fiving Louis.

"That's great and all, but you need an album name." Reagan said.

"That's usually the last thing we do."

"Yeah, but if you want me to build you a campaign, I need to know the name of the album."

"We'll get back to you on that." Niall tried.

"Oh no you will not. I want a name by the end of the day."

"Are you mad? You can't rush our creative process!" Niall replied.

"Your last album was named Four. How many months did it take you to come up with that?"

Everyone turned to look at Harry pointedly.

"Well, at least you know you can't do any worse than that album name. So how about you get to work?" Reagan tried. "Oh, and Niall?"

Niall looked up at her guiltily, "Yeah?"

"Stop trying to peek into Lydia's office, you're freaking her out."

He chuckled, "I just want a look at Hailey."

"You're freaking her out too."

"She just got here."

"Yeah, that's my point." Reagan said, walking away with a smirk upon her face.

She walked back to her desk, her stomach still churning from the fact that she was going to be stuck planning and watching Hailey and Harry's budding "relationship". Harry had of course attempted to play it off, to act cool, which he did to no avail. But she appreciated the attempt, as fucking awkward as it may have been. In fact, as she looked up at the boys, now huddled together, she saw Harry look her way, a dimpled smile clearly meant for her unfolding upon his perfect face. 

Just as she was about to smile back she head Lydia call for her, "Reagan? Please show Hailey around. I've given her full access to the studio."

Harry looked away quickly at that, clearly embarrassed at the fact that it was Reagan that had to keep tabs on Hailey. 

"Coming." Reagan said, getting up from her desk and turning away from the direction of the boys. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Whatever happened, Hailey wasn't here to stay forever. Harry chose her, he...loved her. She loved him. 

Hailey stepped out of the office, a keycard in her hand, "Oh, no that's okay Reagan. You can keep working, I was going to get Harry to show me around."

Reagan plastered on a smile, "Yeah, of course."

Harry turned to look at them, that same dimpled smile, but it wasn't solely for Reagan. In fact, it seemed to be only for Hailey, "Sure, it would be my pleasure."

Reagan took a breath. Harry loved her, he loved her, didn't he?


	61. Chapter 61

Harry reluctantly opened the door to the studio and allowed Hailey to step out before him. She excitedly bounced out, obviously pleased that it would be Harry who would be giving her the full tour. Harry found it a tad endearing, the same way he felt when he first met Kennedy, actually. 

"So, is this your first time in the states?"

Hailey shook her head, "I was in New York once. But I'm not much one for travel."

Harry nodded, his hands in his pant pockets, "I wasn't either." 

"Oh, but you got used to it now, I imagine."

"No. Not really. Spend most of my time here in LA."

She nodded, "Cool."

Hailey was obviously nervous, Harry noted, as she bit her bottom lip. He didn't know what to make of this girl. She couldn't be older than Kennedy, couldn't have been out of her own country more than a few times. She was so much like him when he was sixteen. At least, she looked the part. All wonder and mystery and an air of trouble. 

"So," Harry said, pointing down the hallway, "This is it."

"What, this is the tour?"

"There isn't much to see, really." He said, bashfully scratching the back of his head.

"Really? Lydia made it seem as if there was."

"Well, all that's on this floor is a studio and-"

"You mean another one?"

"Yeah, well, that's where I go when I want to be alone and write."

She nodded, a smile playing upon her lips, "Just like me."

"What's that?"

"You're just like me. I tend to want to close myself off from the world when I write."

Harry smiled, "The other lads make fun of me for it, but I'm glad someone gets it."

She looked away shyly, her hazel eyes twinkling. Harry looked at her then, really studied her. She was beautiful, without a doubt. All of the girls that were his "girlfriends" always were models after all. But there was just something about Hailey that he just couldn't put his finger on.

Harry cleared his throat, "Anyway." He said, walking down the hallway, "Here is the break room that no one but Lydia and Paul use." He pointed to the room, and continued walking with Hailey two steps behind him.

"Where's the ladies' room?"

Harry smiled to himself, remembering the day he met Reagan, "Well, on this floor it's actually at the end of the hall."

"Ah, okay."

"I don't think you'll be spending much time here anyway, will you?"

Hailey's face changed slightly, her hazel eyes grew darker if only for a second, as she remembered what Reagan had said about her only being brought in to be Harry's PR "Have any of your other "girlfriends" been with you at the studio?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Well if you don't want me here..."

"Oh, that's not what I'm saying." Harry said, immediately feeling guilty, "It's just that it's not that fun around here."

"You do realize I'm a musician, right?" She smiled.

"Point taken." He turned back towards the studio, "We should go back."

"Already?"

He shrugged, "We have work to do, Reagan will be pretty steamed if we don't get on with it."

She grimaced at the mention of Reagan, but quickly recovered "Well, I just...I thought maybe...we could?"

"Hang out?"

"Yeah."

He chuckled, "There'll be time for that, don't worry."

She nodded, "Good. I'm glad."

But before he could turn back and open the door, Hailey touched his shoulder, "I um..."

He turned back to look at her. She stepped one step back and blushed.

"Harry, I just. I don't want this to be weird, you know? I know that you've been through this already and that, well, it didn't quite work out in your favor. But I just wanted you to know it's not going to be that way with me."

"Oh?"

"We should be friends. I mean, after all if we have to go through this, why not do it on good terms."

He wanted to believe her, he really did. After all, how could he not give her the benefit of the doubt? Not everyone was out to get him. Not every girl was in love with him. Maybe Hailey would be different. Maybe she was in this situation just like he was. Because she had to be. 

Harry nodded, "Are you telling me things aren't going to get messy? Feelings just tend to get hurt in these types of situations." 

Hailey extended her hand, "Just friends."

Harry took her hand in his, her soft touch upon his palm as he shook, "Friends it is."

—✴—

They walked back into the studio with large smiles plastered upon their faces, it made Reagan feel nauseous. Harry walked straight to the other side of the room though, leaving Hailey to awkwardly stand by the door. Reagan looked at her from the corner of her eye, making sure the girl didn't disrupt the peaceful flow the boys had been having. 

The boys had been relatively quiet, all sitting together on a couch, thinking about possible titles for the album, or working on another song. Whichever it was, the important thing was that they were actually working. That is until Hailey walked back into the room and distracted Niall.

Lydia had called for Harry the moment she heard the door close, no doubt she was giving him the run down of how his and Hailey's relationship would look like for the next few weeks.

With Harry preoccupied then, Niall found himself throwing his pad of paper and pen aside and smoothing back his hair before he got up from his spot in between Liam and Louis. He strutted over to the almost too-beautiful girl. Liam shook his head and Louis just braced himself, knowing that Niall was about to have a go at Hailey.

Niall, ever the self-proclaimed ladies man, found himself feeling for Hailey what she felt for Harry. The only exception was that Hailey was tactful, she knew how to entrap her pray. Niall on the other hand...

"So, Hailey?" Niall said, approaching her.

"Yes?"

"You're from Australia?"

She nodded.

"How is it down under?" He said, "I heard all the fittest girls are from Australia. The lot of you are Victoria Secret models, aren't you? I mean you totally could be too, you're just-" He made a blowing up motion with his hands, as if indicating she was in fact mind blowing.

Liam smirked, "Smooth."

Niall turned to look sharply at him while Hailey discretely rolled her eyes. It was a gesture that of course only Reagan and Louis had seen. Louis in fact didn't like it one bit. 

"No, I don't model." Hailey said, her voice sounding almost bored.

"Oh." Niall said, his face red all of a sudden, "You're just, you know, gorgeous-I just-"

"God this is painful to watch." Louis muttered.

Harry, finally coming out of Lydia's office, knew just by the sight of Niall that he was bothering Hailey, "Oh come on, Niall." 

Niall looked up and crossed his arms, "What I'm not allowed to talk to her?"

Harry shook his head, "We all know you weren't just talking to her."

"So? What now you get her and Reagan?"

Hailey turned to look at Harry sharply, in complete and utter disbelief, "Wait, you're really dating her?"


	62. Chapter 62

Hailey looked at both of them, trying to hide the disgust on her face, but ultimately failing. Louis could see right away what Hailey was thinking, and what this could mean for Reagan and Harry. As much as he hated himself for putting Harry in this situation, he was starting to hate this Hailey girl even more so. Quickly though he responded, "No, of course not. We just like to play along with whatever the paps publish in the tabloids, it's all a bunch of rubbish is what it is." He finished with a chuckle.

Hailey turned her gaze towards Reagan and Harry, both of them laughing along with Louis and trying to act normally.

"Really?" Hailey asked.

"You know how it is, Hailey." Louis said, walking towards her. "I mean, that's why you're here after all, isn't it?"

"What?"

"You know, to be Harry's new love interest. The paps will eat it up."

"So you guys pretended to be together?" Hailey said, turning back to look at Harry and Reagan.

Harry did not want to answer, in fact he just wanted to dart out of the room. As if he and Reagan weren't in a bad enough spot already. To have to answer this question, even if he didn't mean it? He felt as if he were just proving all of Reagan's thoughts true.

"No, god no." Reagan said, not hesitating one bit, "Those headlines were taken way out of context. Besides, I work here. Could you imagine the mess?" She said, smirking and crossing her arms in front of her chest. Harry thought she said it a little too easily, almost as if she could possibly mean it. 

Hailey didn't look convinced though, especially by the way Harry was fidgeting. But she figured that for now she would let it go, "Yeah, you're right. I knew it wasn't true the moment I saw it." She added.

"Why is that?" Louis asked, his brow furrowed.

Hailey silently swore to herself, realizing that this was not the moment to act snarkily, she had a role to play after all, "Oh, well, you know. I always figured he was linked to girls just to start some publicity. Isn't that why I'm here after all?" She said pointedly to Louis.

Louis smiled eerily, trying to hold back his own comments. He was the king of sass after all, to have someone like Hailey strut in and challenge him irked him something fierce. 

"So then, if you're not really dating Harry, then I imagine you're free?" Niall asked, clearly not reading the situation. He didn't notice the tension in the room, not like everyone else did. He was too lost in Hailey's hazel eyes and her floral smell. The tension itself was palpable, something that Liam could feel, even though he was nowhere in the middle of it. Niall though certainly did not notice the jabs Hailey was attempting to take at Reagan, nor did Harry for that reason. Both kind hearted boys believed most of what Hailey said, again, giving her the benefit of the doubt and trying to see the good in her. For Niall though it was more of being to hypnotized by her beauty than trying to look past the exterior as Harry tended to do. 

"Just leave her be, Niall." Harry said, pulling his mate's arm and giving him a stern look. 

Niall sighed, "Whatever." And trudged off, walking back to his guitar. They all watched as he picked it up off the floor and pathetically strummed a few cords. All of them too aware of the fact that this situation was off. 

"Well, if we're done here," Reagan said, turning back to her work and pushing through the awkward lull in the conversation, "I'm sure you boys have an album name to come up with."

The boys grunted, only Harry quietly peeked at Reagan to see if she would give him any type of sign that things were okay between them. But she didn't. In fact she just typed away on her laptop, pretending she didn't feel Harry's gaze upon her.

So the boys went back to their corner, convinced that if they huddled together, far away and secluded from the world that maybe they could finally come up with the name of their fifth album. At least for Reagan's sake.

Hailey continued watching Reagan though, feeling as if there was more than the boys led on. She just couldn't believe that someone that looked like Reagan would ever get a boy like Harry, it just didn't work that way, not in the real world.

She couldn't help but let her eyes wander over this girl that was so incredibly different from her. She studied her wavy blonde hair, her thick thighs and rolls of tummy going over the waist of her pleated skirt. She saw from her angle that Reagan was short, her feet slightly dangling off the floor as she sat her desk, her thick hands quickly typing away. Reagan looked nothing like a model, nothing like Harry's former type. She more his type than Reagan could ever be.

So that tension she felt between Reagan and Harry, she didn't know what to make of it. It didn't make sense to her, and she hated the very fact. It just wasn't right.

"I think I should be getting settled in." Hailey said, approaching Reagan, "I'm feeling very tired."

"Yeah, you had a long flight." Reagan said, trying to sympathize, "It must be the jet lag kicking in."

"That's a bitch." Niall said from across the room.

Louis slapped him behind his head, "Focus, idiot."

"Fucking wanker." Niall muttered, rubbing the back of his blonde head and turning back to work.

The girls disregarded the scene and continued their chat, "Is someone taking me to the hotel?" Hailey asked trying to say it loudly enough so that Harry could hear.

He did, of course he did. But considering how the previous situation had gone down, he didn't plan on moving a finger. He was going to stay in the studio, coming up with a name for the album, and staying out of trouble. Until there was a set plan of action regarding him and Hailey, he would be civil, but he would not be going anywhere with her. At the very least for Reagan's sake.

"I could take you." Reagan offered, almost regretting it the moment the words left her mouth, "Your bags are in my car anyway."

"You wouldn't mind?" Hailey said, clearly minding that it would be Reagan she would be stuck with once more.

"Of course not." She turned to look at the boys, "When I come back there better be a name."

"Don't hold your breath." Niall retorted.

Harry rubbed his chin, "That could work."

"What?" Niall said, turning to face him.

"'Don't Hold Your Breath' It serves as a safety warning too, you know? Like don't hold your breath because you could asphyxiate?"

"What in the bloody hell are you even blabbing about?" Louis remarked, "This is precisely why you're not choosing the name of the next album. So just shut up and keep writing your song, we'll decided what the name will be."

Reagan simply shook her head, and turned to look at Hailey, "You ready to go?"

Hailey nodded, and turned to look at the boys, "Bye. It was nice meeting all of you, especially you Harry."

Harry nodded, giving her a two finger salute and his dimpled smirk. It was enough to give both girls a slight flutter in their hearts.

Reagan though, ignored the feeling per usual. She grabbed her keys and Hailey followed, both girls closing the door to the studio as the boys continued bickering. 

—✴—

The car ride to Hailey's hotel was surprisingly uneventful compared to the rest of the day. That is until they arrived. That's when Hailey turned to face Reagan and with a faux caring and compassionate face, she place a perfectly manicured hand upon her shoulder and said, "I know you have a thing for Harry."

"What?" Reagan said, trying to act as if she were taken aback.

"I mean, millions of girls do, it's not a big deal. You're just lucky enough to be working so closely with him."

"I don't like him in that way though."

"Are you sure?"

Reagan furrowed her brow, "This is getting mighty personal considering I've only known you for about five hours."

Hailey laughed, playing it off, "Well, we're going to be around each other a lot. I just wanted to let you know that if you did fancy Harry, well that it was okay."

"Oh?" Reagan said, trying to keep her cool.

"I mean, it's not like you'll ever end up together. I'm sure you know by now that Harry's just too nice. I mean, I though people were exaggerating, but looking at the situation he got himself in with you I can tell they weren't at all."

"Uhuh." Reagan responded, trying to remember that Hailey was a part of her job now. She couldn't do anything to her, not until Hailey's role was over in this whole twisted scheme. 

"And I know there are a lot of rumors about the both of you dating going around, but I just want you to know that you shouldn't worry. No one believes they're true."

"Yeah, thanks for the reassurance." Reagan muttered.

"That's what I'm here for." Hailey said with a too kind smile upon her face, "Well, I must be off. Too much to unpack."

"Yeah."

"I'll see you in two days. Lydia's going to make up a schedule for me tomorrow, she told me to come pick it up on Thursday."

"Alright."

And with that Hailey shut the door, leaving Reagan with more demons then she had originally had. Hailey was right after all, at least that's what Reagan thought. After all, why would Lydia need to cover up her and Harry's "fake" relationship if she were the ideal girl for him? She wouldn't. Hailey wouldn't have been flown in, elaborate plans to "salvage" his reputation wouldn't have been made.

That was life, and Reagan thought she was used to it by now. She was just being proved wrong every day now.


	63. Chapter 63

When under pressure or extreme amounts of stress, all four of the boys seemed to thrive. Harry by the end of that very week had finished penning his song, helped Louis with another, and had managed to stay out of trouble. Of course, late nights in the studio seemed to help, but Harry knew that soon enough he would be forced to face reality. 

Hailey was a nice enough girl, never too clingy, knew when to leave him be. But then, it was only the beginning. She had only been in and out, conversing with Lydia and having small chats with Reagan. The next couple of weeks had them practically handcuffed to each other, and that's putting it nicely. But it was only one official date that needed to be in the books for all of it to be over. That was Louis' promise to Harry after all. 

This is what Louis reminded him the other day, that it would just be one date. But they both knew that leading up to that was at least two weeks of being "linked" to each other. That he and Hailey would have to make it look as if the relationship didn't pop up out of anywhere, that it was something natural. That in and of itself was going to be enough to drive Harry mad. But all Louis kept repeating was that it was only a few weeks, then he would drop the bomb and PR would have a mess of a time attempting to cover up the baby scandal. Then Harry and Reagan would be free to truly be in love. After all, this whole mess would make her realize how much she truly loved Harry. Or, well, that's what Louis kept saying anyway. 

So Harry reverted back to his old quiet self, spending long nights in the studio with the lads, and trying not to think how everything with Reagan seemed like it had gone to shit. It had been at least a week since they had had a real conversation. More than a week since the last time they had actually had some kind of physical contact. It was driving Harry absolutely mad. How Reagan could act as if nothing were wrong baffled him. It felt as if he were falling apart at the seams. 

Yeah, he seemed like a wuss, but he could care less. He hated the fact that after everything had been going so well, all of a sudden it was as if he didn't even know her. It fucking sucked. 

Speaking of Reagan, she had been rather annoyed that the album had yet to be named. Days had already passed, and although she understood the creative process was not something to be rushed, she had a deadline as well. And if she couldn't have the name of the thing she was promoting, then of what use would she really be?

It wasn't until Saturday night rolled around and the boys were slightly tipsy in the studio messing around with lyrics for probably the third night that week that they finally had a breakthrough though. 

"Haz?" Liam asked, looking up from the sheet music Harry had handed him earlier that evening. Much before they had gone through the four cases of beers.

"Yeah?"

"Mate, this is bloody amazing. Pure gold is what it is!"

"You think so?"

Liam looked up at Harry, giving him his reassuring smile whilst nodding, "I love it." He then turned to look at Niall and Louis, "Listen, I know we said that Harry wouldn't be taking in part in naming the album but-"

"Are you drunk? You must be fucking joking, Liam." Louis said, putting his own notepad down with an air of finality, "Harry is not naming this album too."

"Well technically, I am." Liam said, a devious smile upon his face.

"What were you thinking?" Niall asked, trying to peek at the sheet music over Liam's shoulder. He stumbled a tad as he walked over and cracked a smile that was as big as his face as he read the lyrics, "We just sit around with our glasses, talking out of our asses." 

"Ace, isn't it?" Liam said, cackling.

"Well you sure are talking out of your arse, Liam." Louis said, knocking back his third beer.

Liam smiled, "Lou, you know you want to hear the rest of the song, don't you."

Harry looked at Louis and raised his eyebrows expectantly. Louis rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Niall started strumming the cords to the song on his guitar, attempting to sing the chorus. Harry smiled to himself, humming along, not even trying to correct the buzzed boys as they tried to sing his just completed song, which of course was a first.

All my favorite conversations always made in the am, yeah yeah.

Louis nodded along, realizing that god, the song was perfect. It was reminiscent of every night they had spent together, from the first album to this one, huddled together just like tonight, drunkenly attempting to make coherent sentences. Getting to that point of being just tipsy enough that they weren't afraid to write lyrics that came straight from their souls. He knew that perhaps it wasn't the best approach, but it made them find some kind of peace in the chaos that was their lives. To know that the empty studio, late at night, was the four boys' safe haven, was probably the best feeling in the world. Harry's song did that indescribable feeling justice. 

"You and Julian did a fine job." Louis said, nodding towards Harry as Liam and Niall continued trying to sing.

"I'm sure you and Liam have got some songs that are much better than mine."

Louis shook his head, "Take a fucking compliment, Jesus Christ."

"Fine." Harry replied, "Thank you." 

Louis chuckled, "I just think you got it perfectly."

"What?"

"That nostalgia. This is going to be the song we listen to when we're in four different parts of the world next year."

"Yeah?"

Louis nodded, "All we'll remember is how this, all of this, was made in the wee hours of the morning. How we didn't get any sleep, how Niall would be a bitch come rehearsals, how Liam would try to give us five hour energies and then try to make us go for a fucking run to wake us up?"

Everything just suddenly came flooding back to him, from mattress lined hotel rooms made to be studios where they were led in a sleepy stupor expected to perform their best, to drunken writing sessions that ran late into the night. If it hadn't been for the darkness of the night, for the peak hours of the morning, they never would have been able to make their last two albums. They wouldn't have grown as close as they had. 

Harry smiled, but it faltered just a tad, "You think this hiatus...you think it'll-"

"No. It won't change a thing, mate. It's just a breather. I think you know more than anyone how much we just need to come up for air."

Harry nodded.

"Hey Payno?" Louis said, interrupting Liam and Niall's little squabble over which cord sounded better for the second verse.

"What?"

"I think you're right."

"About?"

"Made in the A.M.," He turned to look at Harry, "It does the last five years justice, doesn't it?"


	64. Chapter 64

To say Reagan was upset was an understatement. She had walked in on a fucking mess for the fourth time in the same week. Sheets of paper strewn upon the floor, along with glass bottles and remnants of bags of chips. Liam was upon the sofa, his limbs already slightly falling off. There was a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken on Niall's right side, his arm protectively cradling it. Harry was snoring, his head resting upon Louis' shoulder. The lot of them reeked of alcohol.

She didn't even blink, in fact, she pulled out her cell phone and looked up 'annoying fog horn' and blasted it loudly in the middle of the room. 

"HOLY FUCKING MOTHER OF GOD!" Niall yelled, covering his ears, the bucket of greasy chicken tumbling onto the ground.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Louis said, falling off the couch and consequently making Harry fall off too. 

Harry blinked slowly, almost as if he was unaffected. He hadn't had that much to drink after all.

Reagan rolled her eyes and turned off the loud noise, giving them an even stare, "I want this mess cleaned up before Lydia gets in. You all know that she's going to do much worse than a foghorn." She said waving her phone at them.

"God." Liam said, still half sleep, running a hand through his hair, "You sure know how to wake a guy."

"And you bunch sure do know how to make my job impossible. Let me guess, another night you spent thinking of a title without any luck? Because if I have to come into work one more-"

"We have an album title." Louis said with a smirk.

"Do you now?"

Niall nodded, "We were celebrating that you wouldn't lose your job."

"Thanks for the invite." Reagan said dryly.

"Don't you want to hear the title?" Liam asked, a smile playing upon his face. 

Reagan relented, "Well, yeah."

"Harry, mate, you should do the honors."

Harry looked at them sleepily, his heart racing slightly as he looked towards Reagan.

Reagan ignored the look he gave her, ignored the own beat of her heart as they locked eyes and instead said, "I thought we agreed Harry wouldn't be in charge of naming the album."

Harry knew it was all in good fun, so he didn't take it personally. With the other boys, well, they always kind of meant it. 

Harry looked at Reagan, his charming dimpled smile making the butterflies in her stomach go wild, "The name was so good, they couldn't resist." He consequently winked, just to get a reaction out of her. It truly did feel like it was forever since they had any kind of interaction like this.

Reagan looked away, trying not to smile like an idiot. She took a breath before asking "Well, what's the name?"

Louis nodded at Harry, encouraging him to say it. Sleepy Harry smiled back at him, almost as if proud that finally he had come up with something that all the boys were excited about.

"Made in the AM." He finally said.

Reagan took a second, let the name roll around in her mind. She repeated it a few times, thought about the nights the boys had described to her, the remnants of last night. She nodded slowly, "Sounds perfect."

"Funny you should say 'perfect'." Harry said, turning to look at Louis with a large smirk upon his face.

"What, why?"

Louis rolled his eyes, trying not to smile at the inevitable pun Harry was about to make, "We finished another song."

"You might say it's 'perfect'." Harry added, putting even more of an emphasis on the word 'perfect'.

Reagan furrowed her brow, "What are you even saying?"

"The fucking song is called 'Perfect'. Goodness Harry, it's too early for you to be this big of a pain in the ass." Louis replied as he got up off the floor, "God, I feel like a human trash can."

"I need to go home." Liam said, sitting up.

"Me too." Niall said, not bothering to get up off the floor, or to even move away from the spilled remnants of the chicken.

Reagan relented, "I'll cover for you. But this is the last fucking time. I want all of you back by ten."

Harry smiled, "It's because the album name was that good, right? That's why we get a break?"

Reagan smirked, "Just go home Styles, you smell terrible." There was a pit of anxiety in her stomach that not even her snarky remarks could cover up. She avoided looking him directly in the eyes, hitched up her purse, and before she walked out of the room said, "Ten AM. Sharp!"

—✴—

Surprisingly, that had been the last of the drunken writing sessions. It was time for the boys to get back into the swing of things, seeing as they were due back on tour in two weeks. 

Since they were in fact due back on tour in two weeks, that put Reagan's own future in question. Would she, or would she not be joining the boys on tour? From the fact that Lydia had yet to approach her about it, she sincerely doubted she was expected to join them. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would, after all, it felt like she and Harry needed the time and space. And after all, that just meant she had one less life altering decision to make. 

There had just been so much going on with the whole Harry being in love with her thing, to the boys' hiatus, to Hailey's arrival, that of course things were going to be dropped or forgotten. She hadn't even thought about the fact that she was expected to go on tour with them until she heard Julian talk about wanting to put their first single off the new album on the set list when they hit North America. 

She had been working on their campaign for almost two days been then, had started immediately after she had gotten the album name. She had so many ideas for this album, for them. She knew that this album was important for them, and she wanted to make it the best it could be-even if the boys were difficult to cooperate with. 

Yet, of course, while she in the middle of working Hailey arrives once more. She struts into the studio, the boys oblivious as they are recording, and stands directly in front of Reagan.

Reagan almost sighs out loud when she sees the perfect figure before her, "Hi, Hailey."

Hailey smiled, "Lydia told me to come in today. Said she had the schedule ready for me?"

Reagan nodded, even though she hadn't spoken to Lydia in a few days. Everything was getting too hectic around the label again. She got up from her seat and led Hailey to Lydia's office, knocking twice on the door before getting a "Come in."

Lydia sat at her desk, busily typing away on her computer, when she saw the two girls in the doorway, "Perfect, just the two I wanted to talk to."

Reagan looked at her confusedly, "What, me too?"

Lydia nodded, "It's pertinent information to you as well." She pointed to the two seats before her desk and motioned for the pair to sit down. 

"Now, Hailey, of course we're honored that you're here. But I just wanted to clarify that this is not a one week gig, nor that things will happen that quickly. Like everything, this is a process."

Hailey nodded sweetly, "Of course, I understand."

"Now, much like with the previous girls, what we're going to have you do is be photographed with Harry around town. Nothing too suspicious, just having you look like friends."

"Okay."

"I know we didn't discuss this, Hailey, but we will need you to fly out on tour with them. At least for a show or two."

"Oh, that's fine."

"Perhaps before they're finished with their European dates? Just so that when they come back we have enough ground work laid out to start 'leaking information' to the press about Harry's new girlfriend. Until then, we'll have you working with a vocal coach on your music. Does that sound fair?"

Hailey smiled, "Of course."

"And Reagan?"

"Yes?"

"I know we have yet to discuss this, and originally I didn't plan on you going on tour with the boys. But I would hate to send Hailey out on her own. Since this is more in your PR department, do you think you could accompany her when she goes on tour with the band?"

Reagan couldn't help but notice that things were increasingly getting worse. How could she possibly be expected to go on tour with the boys, simply to play chaperon for the girl who was supposed to cover up Harry's mistake of falling in love with her?

"That-That wouldn't be a problem." Reagan relented, "Just give me the dates you want us to go."

And that was that. Within the hour Lydia had booked their tickets Norway so that the girls would be able to join the boys on the last three dates of their European leg. Looks like Reagan was going on tour with the boys after all.


	65. Chapter 65

Harry watched Reagan as she sat at her desk the night before the boys were to leave for the second leg of the tour. He sat back upon the plush sofa as Reagan typed away on her laptop. The sun had just set, the lights slightly dimmed in the studio as Niall and Louis finished recording for the day. Harry though had finished early, per usual, and was contemplating what happened with him and Reagan. It seemed as if everything was up in the air, he absolutely hated it. What had happened to his and Reagan's plans? To waiting until the hiatus began so they could finally come out and just be together? Reagan coming on tour should've had him rejoicing, absolutely and completely over the fucking moon. But he wasn't. In fact, he was petrified. After all, it would only put an additional strain on their waning relationship. 

He knew that as much as Reagan may pretend not to care about the whole Hailey thing, she had to. It was just fucking human nature wasn't it? If he were to see Reagan with another guy it would drive him mad, no matter if he knew that they were only pretending to be together. 

"Stop staring at me," Reagan said, not bothering to look up from her screen. 

Harry looked away with a smirk upon his face, "Just trying to get in as much as I can before I leave."

"Of what?" She asked, against her better judgement.

Harry leaned back against the couch, placing his tattooed arm behind the back and crossing his skinny jean clad legs, "Of you."

She blushed, continued typing as if only that computer screen existed in that moment in time. 

Conveniently at that exact moment of awkwardness Louis walked out of the studio with Niall and almost immediately understood what was happening. He knowingly nodded at Harry, "We'll be heading out then."

Niall furrowed his brow and indignantly said "What? You didn't say-" He was swiftly hit in the chest by Louis before he could finish though, he gasped at the impact.

As Niall still attempted to catch his breath Louis nodded toward Reagan, "See you in Norway Reagan Bailey."

"Safe travels." She waved weakly, watching as Niall hobbled out the door, ushered out by a smirking Louis. She felt her stomach starting to knot, she hadn't been alone with Harry in what felt like forever. 

"Rae?" 

She didn't want to look up, she really didn't, but she had to, "Yeah?"

He mumbled, "This is stupid."

"What?"

He leaned forward, uncrossing his long legs, and staring at her evenly, ignoring his own nervousness said, "What I told you before, Rae. I haven't taken it back. I never will."

She had relived that day that he told her he loved her on repeat, wishing she had said it back. But now, having the chance to say something, she found herself unable to say anything. She was speechless. 

"I won't say it again until you're read, but know that my intentions haven't changed. I know that you want to pretend that you don't feel the same way, and that's fine." He said, his smile growing wider across his face, "But I know by the way you've been acting that you do feel the same way."

"How have I been acting?"

"Oh Rae," Harry sighed, "You know, you act like none of this Hailey rubbish bother yous, but you bloody well know it does."

"That's a lot to assume." She muttered.

"Really? Even after the way you've been ignoring me like the plague after I said I'll 'date' her? Because I should remind you that you were the one who said I should do it."

"I know."

"Then?"

"Then, nothing."

"Why are we doing this then?"

"Doing what!?" Reagan asked, losing her patience and raising her voice. 

Harry got up angrily at her change of tone, and within two steps was before Reagan's desk, "You're telling me this is normal? That this is what we're going to be now !?" And God how he regretted listening to Louis right then. Of course he had done this to help his mate, but he was starting to really wonder if it was worth it in the end. 

As Harry started getting angrier, it made Reagan rise up from her seat as well, not wanting to let him intimidate the truth out of her, "What do you want from me, Harry!? I'm sorry I don't submit to your whim twenty four fucking hours a day! Do you want me to be fired? Do you want me to give up everything that I've worked for just so you can have your fun with me for a couple of weeks!?"

Harry jumped over the desk, yes, really. He slid over it dramatically and stood in front of Reagan, miraculously without falling upon his now flushed face. He got over himself though, and in an act of pure impulse he pinned Reagan against the wall, his hands sprawled upon the wall and his arms entrapping her. 

As she tried to remain unaffected by his proximity, it was becoming increasingly hard as she could smell his familiar scent, as she could almost, almost, feel his arms around he once more."

"You know that none of what you've said is even close to the truth." He said in a low, hushed voice, "You fucking know better."

She looked up at him, his nose was almost touching hers, "Do I?"

His eyes flickered at the challenge, "No one is going to change what I feel for you, Reagan Bailey. No one." At that he stepped back, resisting the urge to kiss her, to do more than that. 

She was breathless, waiting for him to make some kind of move. But he didn't. The only move he made was towards the door,"See you in two weeks." He uttered in that same raspy, low tone of voice. His eyes met hers, that flicker peaking through a forest of green. 

She didn't say anything back, didn't even move off of the wall. She just watched as the door closed behind him and tried to remain calm. Tried to process everything that had just happened. 

He still loved her. All this awkwardness, this fucking weirdness was all for nothing. She cursed at herself for actually thinking that Harry's intentions could change, for not saying once again what it was that she felt for him. And before she could stop herself she ran towards the door, into the hallway, and pathetically down the hall, only to hear the whoosh of the elevator in service and to find nothing but an empty corridor. He was gone. 

He was gone and she was left once more wondering if she should have said something more. But she swore it would be the last time. Next time, she was going to tell him the words he deserved to hear. She was going to fucking tell him that she loved him, no more excuses.


	66. Chapter 66

Hailey was a nightmare, which didn't come as a surprise to Reagan, but still proved to be a rather trying problem seeing as they were going to be spending a lot more time together. As it was, the few days Reagan was forced to spend with Hailey, were incredibly unpleasant. Especially since the boys weren't around. 

Having left about a week and a half ago, the boys were already a few shows into the second leg of their tour. Reagan, already having gotten back some prints from the photoshoot the boys had before they left, began to work on the graphics for the album campaign, it helped that they had an actual name now. But it especially helped that they had already laid out what singles they wanted to release and when. So Reagan got a head start if only to let her mind focus on the task at hand instead of on Harry. 

But already the second day after they had left and the studio was actually quiet and peaceful, Hailey barged in and demanded that Reagan take her shopping. Lydia having given Reagan strict orders to basically consent to Hailey's every whim, had to oblige. And so just like that, the rest of the week was dedicated to Hailey. 

"Just ignore her." Kennedy said, helping Reagan place clothes into a suitcase as Reagan told her everything about her hellish week with Australia's newest sweetheart, Hailey Routh, "No use in fighting it."

"You think I don't try?" Reagan said, putting a dress back down onto her bed, "Yesterday she actually had me go on a Starbucks run for her and everyone in the studio. She then proceeded to say 'Oh look, she's actually useful!' and laughed her beautiful, delicate laugh."

"Are you kidding me!?" Kennedy said, slamming the suitcase shut.

Reagan shook her head, "She acts like the sweetest girl on Earth. I can't say not to her if she asks me for something. You know how she would make me look in front of everyone? She's just a-"

"Bitch?"

Reagan smiled bitterly, "Your words, not mine."

Kennedy shrugged, "I call them like I see them." She turned to look at Reagan, "Speaking of seeing, haven't seen much about the whole Hailey thing online. I thought you were supposed to be getting on that."

"No, I mean, Lydia hasn't said anything about it. I think she's in charge of that whole mess, not me."

"Well, I'm just saying, I've seen almost nothing about her and Harry being an item."

"What about just her?"

"Well yeah, how she's projected to be the next big 'Pop Sensation' and 'Move Over Taylor Swift! Hailey Routh has arrived!' all that typical bullshit." Reagan raised her eyebrows, but gave no other response. So Kennedy continued, "This morning though, I did see an article from some gossip website about how Hailey's been spotted hanging out at the boys' studio and hanging out with Harry. Nothing romantic as of yet though, I imagine they're building up to it?" Reagan remained silent, and Kennedy just couldn't help herself, "But let's be honest. Harry and Hailey don't even have a good ship name. What kind of ship name can they even get out of their names? None. Now you two? Haegan? Rarry? Stailey?"

Reagan grimaced, "What are you even talking about?"

"Well when you and Harry come out to the public you're going to be given a shipname. You'll be someone's OTP."

"O-T- What? Ship name? What, are we a boat?"

"Wow, grandma. Didn't know you were so behind on the times. Aren't you the boys' social media person? How could you not even know these things?"

"Not into the lingo."

"Past your time huh?"

"Well, in my day..." Reagan said with a laugh.

"Anyway..." Kennedy said, trying to get the conversation back on track, "As I was saying, after the whole pictures of you two leaking and people mobbing our house thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, some people started talking about you two, as you know, a couple. But since someone wanted to avoid social media and deleted all her personal accounts."

"Which is the responsible thing to do when something like that happens."

"Yeah, well, they've dubbed you Haegan and they're in love with the idea of you two being in love."

"Get out of here."

"I'm so fucking serious, Rae. People love you two together. They say they've never seen Harry happier. They're in love with the fact that you're not a model, that you're so smart and put together."

"And fat?"

"You're not fat."

"I'm not skinny."

"I'm not a model, thus I'm the opposite of one."

"You need to stop this bullshit. Is this the reason you two haven't sealed the deal yet? Because you think you don't look hot enough to be with him?"

"So many things wrong in that sentence..."

"I'm so serious, you need to get over yourself. You're not a model, you're so much better than that. You're you, Rae"

"That's so fucking cheesy."

"Well, what can I say. I've been around Harry for far too long." Kennedy laughed. Reagan sighed, making Kennedy immediately turn to look at her, "What?"

"I um, I'm going to tell him..."

"Tell him what?"

"That I love him." Reagan whispered.

"You are!?" 

Reagan nodded. 

Kennedy quickly threw the suitcases off the bed, pulling up the handle and leading them towards the door.

"What are you doing!?" Reagan said, trying to get her luggage back.

"Shipping you off to fucking Norway! You're telling him now before you back out again!"

"My flight doesn't leave for another two days, Kenz."

"You're not going to change your mind?"

Reagan shook her head, "No. But-"

"Oh, here we go."

"But," Reagan continued, nonetheless, "I will wait until the perfect time."

"There is no perfect time. It's like sex, it's an 'in the moment' kind of thing."

"What do you possibly know about sex?" Reagan said, crossing her arms.

"Nothing. Just speculating." Kennedy said, ignoring her sister's stare. "But really, if you just keep waiting, you're never going to do it."

"I'm not just going to blurt it out when I see him. Like imagine, in front of all the boys and staff, "Harry you know when I went to go see you at your house last month? Yeah, I actually went to go tell you that I fucking love you. I love you. Okay?"

"Wow, you fucking love him. That's intense."

"Shut up."

"Just don't change your mind." Kennedy said, pushing the suitcases aside to walk out of Reagan's room, "Don't live with regrets."

"Where are you going? You tore up my entire closet?"

Kennedy waved from the hallway, "Sorry, you only asked me to help you pack, not to help you clean up. But if you want more expert advice, you know where to find me!"

Reagan rolled her eyes, but a smile was still plastered upon her face. Who would've thought it would be her younger sister giving her advice on love?


	67. Chapter 67

This time around touring was beginning to wear harder on the boys. It was after all the first leg since Zayn had left, the first leg since they knew that by the end of this tour there was no multitude of work for them. This was the first time that they didn't know what would come next, and as much as it scared them, it excited them. 

As the idea of the hiatus began to grow on the four boys, it became clear that perhaps one year may not be enough to make up for the five years of giving up basically the entirety of their youth to one record label. At least, that's what Harry was soon thinking as he laid in his bed, restless, after the fourth show of the European tour. 

It was late into the night, and as he was still jet-lagged, Harry found himself thinking about everything he had missed in the last five years. He tried not to think about it much, he knew that if he did he'd find himself in one of those fits of depression that he attempted to avoid whenever possible. But the night called for it seeing as within two days Reagan would arrive. And thinking about Reagan made him think about the future, and how she played into it of course. 

He heard Louis snore softly across the room as he laid on his back and shifted upon the stiff sheets. He couldn't help but think of his mate, how he was going to become a father. How one year couldn't possibly be enough to spend time with his baby. He thought of Niall, of his family, how he hadn't seen them since Christmas and how he hid the pain it caused him because he wanted to be strong for them. He thought about Liam, how his girlfriend Sophia was beginning to lose her patience with him. How she wanted to be with him, to build a life with him, and how all he could tell her was that they had to wait. But most importantly he thought of Zayn, how he had to leave to be able to himself again. How as much as he wanted to be mad at him, he just couldn't, because he knew what it felt like to be drowning in loneliness and to not have someone who could rescue you from the overwhelming sea of sadness. 

He knew that his life was far from tragic, but nonetheless at times it just wasn't enough. He wasn't sure that all of this was worth it in the end if it caused them this much pain. He loved to sing and he loved to tour and he loved all the love the fans gave him and the support they provided, but it just wasn't enough. And he knew he shouldn't feel that way, but tonight for some reason he did. He felt that crushing weight upon his chest once more and yearned for the girl who kept trying to avoid the fact that they belonged together. 

"What are you mooning about now?" Louis whispered, clearly knowing that Harry was still awake from the fact that he heard him sigh every ten to fifteen seconds. 

"Nothing." Harry said a little too quickly, turning his back toward Louis' side of the room and trying to fall asleep at the very instant.

Louis sighed loudly, "Is it because Reagan is going to be here soon?"

"Kind of."

"Well what else is it?"

"I don't know. You know how it is, three AM ponderings."

"No, I really don't. That's when people fucking sleep, Harold." He added in a yawn, just for emphasis. 

"Go back to sleep then." Harry said, rather dismissively in a harsh whisper, "I'm fine."

"You're not fine. And we both know you're just going to be pathetically sighing and moving around all night. So spare me the act, what's up?"

"Do you think a year is enough?" Harry asked, turning back to face Louis, and reaching over to turn on the dim light upon the table beside his bed.Louis sat up upon his bed, cross legged, already giving up on his much needed sleep. 

"For what?"

"For a hiatus." Harry said avoiding Louis' stare.

"You think it should be longer?"

"I don't...I don't think it should be for a determined time."

Louis perked an eyebrow, "You do realize that's career suicide, mate?"

"Well then two years? Three years? I just don't think 365 days are going to be enough to get my life back in order. I don't think it will be for all of us."

Louis shrugged, "So we extend it until we're ready. You know we just have to give some kind of context as to when we're coming back because if not the fans will go completely mad. But you know they'll be there when we come back, no matter what."

"You think so?"

"Is this what's been keeping you up?"

Harry nodded, his curls pressed against his forehead and sleep in his eyes, "Yeah."

"I promise you, we're gonna be okay. No matter how long we go on hiatus. We will come back. Be it in one year, in two, in five, in ten. We will come back and we will be okay."

Harry nodded.

"Besides, you don't need to leave in order to figure out who you are." Louis said pointedly, clearly in reference to Zayn. "You know who you are, Haz. You just need some time to be that person, and that's okay. No one will hate you for that."

Louis reached over to turn off the light and murmured, "And if you wake me up one more time with that pathetic little mew of a sigh-"

"Won't happen again." Harry said, a slight smile playing upon his face. 

"Good. Well, night then. We have an early morning."

"Yeah. Night, mate."

And finally Harry fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Lulled into serenity by Louis' comforting words and the fact that he would be seeing Reagan in less than forty-eight hours.

—✴—

"Kennedy!? Are you kidding me!? I can't take this with me!" Reagan said, early the day of her departure. She had forgotten that she had put the outfit she planned to wear within a suitcase, and whilst shifting through her bags contents she found that a majority of her clothes were certainly not what she had originally packed. She picked up a crop top and a pair of flimsy shorts and threw them onto the floor. 

Kennedy peeked her head in, "What? Clothes? I mean, are you saying you don't need them? Because I knew you were planning on going far with Harry, but I didn't think you were planning on going that far."

Reagan threw a sundress at her, "Get out!"

Kennedy ducked out, laughing all the way down the hallway and back into her room. 

"Unbelievable." Reagan muttered to herself, emptying the contents of the suitcase onto her bed and sorting through all of her clothing once more.

She didn't hear when her mom came in, mostly because she was trying to find where Kennedy had hidden her clothes.

"Reagan?"

She lifted her head, "Yeah?"

Her mother laughed as she picked up a sundress with slits in it, "Kennedy get into your stuff?"

"How could you tell?"

"Can't blame her. She has always just wanted for you to see yourself the way she sees you."

"And what way is that?" Her mother looked at the bralette that Reagan held before her and laughed again.

"I'm sure she just meant well. She just wants you to be comfortable in your skin, honey. She thinks you'd look great in these clothes, take it as a compliment."

"She's kidding right?"

"Well, I think you'd look fabulous in these." Her mother said, holding up a form fitting shirt with the matching skirt.

"Mom, you think I'd look "fabulous" in anything."

"Well, because you do."

She sighed, "Is there something you needed?"

Reagan's mother sat upon the bed, pretending not to be hurt by the question and watched as Reagan once again began folding the correct clothes and placing them within her suitcase. She joined her, taking blouses and skirts and folding them so that they wouldn't wrinkle.

"No. Just wanted to have a chat." She looked at Reagan, "Are you excited?" Her mother asked.

"Incredibly." Reagan replied flatly. 

"Well, you get to spend time with Harry."

"So? It's my job to."

"We both know that it's much more than that."

"Mom"

"Reagan, please. Give me a little credit. You think I don't know you're madly in love with this boy? You think I don't know he's clearly stupidly in love with you as well?"

"That obvious, huh?"

"That, and your sister has a habit of telling me things she's not allowed to tell anyone else."

"Kennedy." Reagan mumbled under her breath.

"Well, at least that keeps her from telling anyone outside of the family, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, okay."

"But that's not the point. The point is that you're going to Europe to be with a boy, and I don't think I'm ready for this."

"Mom, please don't repeat that to dad. You know it's my job to go. And you know that I am in charge of delivering Harry's girlfriend right? I'm sure Kennedy told you that much."

Her mother smiled, "That doesn't matter."

"Mom how could that not matter?"

Her mother got up, leaned over Reagan and kissed her on the forehead, "Because love conquers all."

Reagan smirked, watching as her mother left the room, "That's so cliche."

"So is falling in love with a boy band member." Her mother said, making Reagan laugh. 

So she was cliche, so what. Maybe being a cliche wasn't all that bad. Maybe all it meant was that their love would get a happily ever after all, and how could that ever be bad?


	68. Chapter 68

It was weird leaving to say the least. Reagan had never really traveled, even though she had the means to do so. She liked stability, liked routine and patterns. She was a creature of habit. So how she had survived the tumultuous and chaotic storm Harry had brought along with him into her life, she had no idea. But there she was, sitting on a plane next to Hailey, attempting to do some work while Hailey pretended to read a book of poetry Harry had lent her. 

"Reagan?"

Reagan looked up to see Hailey staring right at her.

"Yes?"

"Is there some kind of way to get a summarized version of this book? I just know he's going to ask me about it, and I want him to think I read it."

"It's poetry, why not just read a few poems?"

"It's weird." She said, scrunching her face, "This Bukowski fellow was pretty twisted." She put the book down on the spacious arm rest between them, and suddenly Reagan was even more thankful about being placed in first class. 

"Well, you know, I'd just read his favorite ones."

"How do you know which ones are his favorites?"

Reagan took the book from the arm rest and flipped through it, remembering all the times she'd seen this book underneath his arm, how she'd see him fold the corner of the page when he was lost deep within the words upon its page. 

"Reagan?"

"Oh. Yeah." Reagan said looking up, "See, he marks them with a cross." She said, pointing to the lightly drawn cross next to the title of the poem. 

"Ah." She said skeptically, "I see."

Reagan swore at herself, she knew she shouldn't have bothered helping Hailey. 

"I just, you know, spend so much time with the boys I can tell you a bunch of things about all of them."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Reagan said, realizing she was digging herself into a deeper hole.

"Like what?"

"Um, well, Niall can't perform unless he has his four leaf clover key chain on him. His mom gave it to him before he went on the x-factor."

"That's endearing." Hailey replied, clearly not interested. "Anything else about Harry?"

"Um..."

"Like what is his favorite food? What does he like about a girl? Should I be changing the way that I'm dressed?" She said looking down at her unsurprisingly perfect outfit, her miniskirt and tall knee boots and a silk blouse without a wrinkle on it. 

She was asking the wrong questions though. If this girl cared about him in the least she would ask if he sleeps enough at night, or if the traveling is starting to wear on him. If his heart still races when he's about to get on stage, or if he feels like he's finally found a home. Reagan couldn't help but ask these questions daily, she stupidly wondered if Harry had eaten well, if he had finally had his daily fucking banana. And she couldn't help but feel irratated at the fact that Hailey couldn't even cover up the fact that she was only interested in Harry for his exterior. For his fame and his fortune and his good looks. 

Hailey ignored Reagan's judging stare, much too involved now in her own thought process,"Oh God, what if they photograph me with him? I should just take his hand right? I'm sure he won't mind. I mean, we look like we're meant to be together. Oh, I should make sure we coordinate outfits before we step out together...He seems to like black skinny jeans the most? I should try to find something that will make me look as thin as he is. I mean, I'm not fat, but he's pretty fit." She said looking down at her thighs, and then looking at Reagan's, "But then again, some of us are much worse off."

Reagan ignored the clear jab at her and instead changed the subject like the adult she was, "Management has given us all access to the concert stage. We're going to watch the show from the floor by security. Said they couldn't have us by the audience."

"Oh, good. I wouldn't want to be in the midst of all those screaming teenage girls anyway."

"Well, it is a concert."

Hailey looked at her pointedly, "Whatever. Do we have to stay the entire show? All those guitars and screaming girls give me a migraine."

"You don't want to stay the entire show?"

"God, no. I'll go at the beginning and then just come out at the end. Harry will understand right. I mean, I'm going to be a pretty high profile celebrity. What if someone tries to attack me or something?"

Reagan tried so hard not to respond to Hailey's stupid question, so hard. 

Hailey continued nonetheless, obviously unaware of how incredibly infuriating she was, "I just can't believe all he does is read and write. It just seems like such a waste."

"Waste of what?"

"I mean, couldn't he be a model? An actor? Something that makes use of his gorgeous figure and bone structure, you know? People who are pretty should not be allowed to lock themselves inside. They have to share their beauty with the world. That's why pretty people are famous after all."

"Because they have to share their beauty with the world?"

"I mean, isn't that one of the only things famous people have to offer?"

"That's pretty superficial." Reagan said, she couldn't help herself after all.

"The reality of the world is that pretty people always win, Reagan. We get to be out in the public, showing the world what they should look like," She looked at Reagan, "No offense. But honestly, actors, models, singers, we all offer an escape from ugly realities. You can't escape reality only to be faced with someone who looks like your disgusting Aunt Susan." She said snarkily, "When people want out from their lives, they want to do it with people that look like they belong in fairy tales. Which is why Harry and I are perfect together, we look just like a prince and princess."

"Right."

"So when those articles came out about you and Harry, you broke that wall. You made it seem as if anyone could end up with someone like Harry, making him less desirable. You know that's why I was called in. When girls see me with him, his reputation will be back in tact. All girls will aspire to look like me to get the boy, all boys will be head over heals about me and will think that they have to be more sensitive like Harry. We make the perfect PR couple, and hopefully, we can drop the PR part soon enough."

Reagan was about to gag. Perhaps it was the plane ride, but she was pretty sure it was the toxic spew that was being regurgitated out of Hailey's plum colored mouth. 

"Excuse me," Reagan muttered, undoing her seat belt and rushing through the aisle to the small airplane toilet. She could hear Hailey chuckling behind her. 

As she reached the bathroom and threw the door close behind her, she leaned against the plastic door and breathed in and out. She had to stop letting Hailey get the best of her, but she didn't know how when everything she said was true. 

All she had to hope for was the fact that within a few hours she'd hear Harry's voice again. Maybe then everything will be right again.


	69. Chapter 69

"Please tell me she's almost here," Harry said, pacing back and forth within the small hotel room. It had been converted into a studio by putting up mattresses to soundproof it, and it made him feel as if he were in an asylum. 

The boys watched him with mild amusement, Louis with a tinge of annoyance, after all, he had been pacing for about four hours now. His heeled boots clacking upon the floor kept messing with the playback of the tracks, and every time Louis wanted to yell at him he couldn't because he felt a little guilty that it was his fault that everything was a mess. So he let Harry pace and bit his tongue, hoping Reagan would just get there already. 

"Harry, it's been five minutes since you last asked, mate," Liam said, not bothering to look up from his laptop.

Harry sighed loudly, "How long do you think they'll take?"

Louis looked at his phone, "Kennedy said her flight was getting in at noon."

"Did she board on time?"

"Yes, Harold. She boarded on time."

"You think there were any delays?"

"No, there weren't."

"How would Kennedy know, she wasn't on the plane."

Louis breathed in sharply, attempting to keep his cool, "Harry, please."

"Fine." Harry said defeatedly plopping down to sit beside Niall.

"Have you thought about how you're going to deal with the whole Hailey situation?" Liam asked.

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh, well, you know she's getting rather clingy."

"No she's not."

Liam and Niall looked at each other knowingly.

"What." Harry said looking at them, "What is that." He said pointing between them, "She's not getting clingy. We're friends, that's it. She knows that."

"H, look at your phone." Niall said, picking up the cell phone from the table beside them and pressing the home button to light up the screen. It had 27 message notifications from the past two hours. 

"What? I was busy, I haven't had the chance to reply back."

"A normal person would stop after two unanswered messages." Louis added. 

"She's enthusiastic."

"A little too much." Liam said. 

"Alright, enough. She's a nice girl, we get along just fine." Harry said, snatching his phone out of Niall's hand. 

"That's what you said about the others. You just...you kind of lead girls on, Harry." Liam tried.

"I do not."

"Don't do the defensive thing, now. I'm not trying to say you do it on purpose, I'm saying you're just too nice and that's what gets you in trouble."

"How is being too nice ever a problem?"

All three boys look at each other, making Harry yell, "Stop that!" He gets up and heads towards the door, "I'm going to the airport."

"Oh come off it now, don't get mad just because we're telling you the truth." Louis said, getting up and walking to him, "We just want what's best for you."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay."

"And what's best for you is to not get so involved with Hailey. Keep it professional, okay?"

"I know."

"And be careful with how you greet Reagan, remember, you're in public."

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, you can be off then."

Harry waved them off and walked out the door, only to walk right into the back of one of their guards. He couldn't have sighed loud enough to show his displeasure at their appearance.

"To the airport?" One of them asked.

And Harry hesitantly nodded, because in another country, in a hotel with pretty minimal security, he knew that he would have to submit to the guards and 24/7 surveillance. Which made him right then realize that he would have to be especially careful with Reagan now. That is if she even came near him after what the last time they met. 

—✴—

"How does my hair look? Is it okay? Is my lipstick smudged?" Hailey said, standing before Reagan, not allowing her to move an inch before she gave her a once over.

"You look fine."

"You're sure? This is the first time I see Harry in two weeks, I want him to be floored."

Reagan looked at Hailey again, from the tight little skirt, to the long flowing hair, she looked like she was straight off the runway. No matter that they had spent about twelve hours in transit, not one strand of her perfect chestnut hair was out of place. Her face even looked dewy and refreshed. Reagan on the other hand had crease marks on her cheeks from falling asleep towards the end of the flight. Her nails were basically chewed off from nerves, and her once perfect outfit, was now wrinkled and clinging to her full form. No matter how much she tugged at it, it simply clung more to her curvy frame, and at that point she just gave up. After all, they were going to be in public. She figured Harry shouldn't even look at her. All his attention should be on Hailey anyways. 

"Oh my god! Is that him!?" Hailey asked in an excited whisper.

The airport was mostly empty, luckily no one had been tipped off that Harry would be present went picking up the pair of girls. So Hailey went for it. She sprinted across baggage claim, her long ivory legs taking her directly into Harry's arms. 

He laughed of course, catching Hailey and hugging her tightly to him. They had after all continued talking to each other through messages. He had recommended books to her, and even lent her a few. She told him about her family and why she wanted to be famous. They were getting on beautifully, which was of course putting up all kinds of red flags. But to Harry, as expected, it was all harmless.

"I missed you so much!" Hailey exclaimed, her arms still tightly wound around Harry's neck. She was on the tips of her toes, and as much as Reagan hated to admit it, they truly looked like a beautiful couple. 

Harry caught Reagan watching them, and slowly began to untangle Hailey from him. As much as he liked the girl, the embrace had become something much more than what would be considered strictly friendly. 

"Missed you too." He said smilingly. But from the corner of his eye he watched as Reagan approached them, an embaressed look upon her face. She looked painfully aware of the fact that no physical contact could happen between them, and Harry absolutely hated the fact. He would give anything to brush his lips against hers right then and there. "Reagan." He said, a different kind of smile taking over his face, "You look well."

She shrugged, trying to hide how "Considering it was that long of a flight, I guess so."

"Harry! I still haven't gotten my luggage yet," Hailey interrupted, clearly noting that the attention was no longer on her.

"Oh, yeah." He said, "We should go do that. Rae, your bags are there too right?"

She nodded.

"I can get them and bring them to the car. Why don't you go get settled." He smiled.

"Yeah, okay." She looked up to see one of the boys' guards hovering a few feet away from them. He nodded solemnly before leading her to the van and opening the passenger side door for her. As soon as she was securely in the car, the guard went back to bring the luggage to the car. 

Reagan wasn't sure what she had been expecting when she saw Harry, but it certainly wasn't that. She didn't know why it had been so formal, why he had called her by her full name of all things. And then the you look well? What was that? 

She sighed loudly in her seat. She just didn't know why she had been so worked up about seeing him again when clearly the circumstances wouldn't allow for anything to happen. They were going to be under constant surveillance, how could her lovesick mind have remembered that? All she kept thinking about was how she was going to tell him she loved him. She rolled her eyes, remembering Kennedy's speech about living in the moment, and how she was so totally wrong. 

A vibration in her lap made her jump up, and she looked at the screen to see a message from no one other than Harry. 

tonight after the show. You and me, my room? 

Don't you have a roommate?

ill kick him out.

I'm not going to your room. I'm still mad at you.

that was two weeks ago. and its the only place we can go, rae. take it or leave it.

What about security?

you think I cant get past them?

What about me? How will I get past them to get into your room, smartass?

oh i missed that sass. dont worry about that just tell me you'll come see me after the show and ill fix everything.

Reagan thought it would take more than that. That she wouldn't just so easily give into his whims. But as he approached the car and opened the door to let Hailey get in and them himself, he watched her through the mirror expectantly. Hailey was talking, her voice the only thing filling the silent car. But to Harry the only thing in the world was Reagan, the only thing that mattered was her answer. So as she typed out a response and held eye contact with him through the mirror, both of them felt that palpable tension grow between them. 

I'll be there.

He grinned, pushing his hair back and out of his face and winking at her through the mirror, making her blush profusely. And Hailey, completely unaware, continued bullshitting a summary about Charles Bukowski and how much she 'adored his work'.


	70. Chapter 70

It was not unlike how she had imagined it would be, but at the same time it was better. She studied the crowd from her position on the floor, close to the stage. Smiled to herself as she heard Harry attempt his fifth joke of the night and only managed to get a few titters from the audience. She sang to herself, along with the chorus of each song, couldn't help it really even though she so badly wanted to. She was so in love with the atmosphere, the vibe. She could see why so many people wanted to come again and again. The boys may have been terrible dancers, but they made you feel as if you were part of their inner circle. They talked to the audience, jokingly and honestly, and made every single person in that stadium feel as if they were special. And that was a gift, it truly was. They didn't need to make an act, they were probably the only artists in the world that could go on stage, be themselves, and leave people feeling as if they had just had the experience of a lifetime. 

Harry of course, from upon the stage, couldn't help but glance at Reagan every so often. He attempted to establish eye contact throughout performances, but she just wouldn't have it. She kept looking away, far too embarrassed to even think about having him sing to her. That just wasn't going to happen yet, she wouldn't hear of it. But Harry being Harry couldn't help himself. So every time they sang any relatively suggestive song, he kept trying to make eye contact just to embarrass the hell out of poor Reagan Bailey and watch that blush rise upon her cheeks as she kept trying to keep her thoughts pure and her heart beating at a normal pace. 

One would think that at such a relatively far distance, and with such a grand amount of people in the audience, that no one would notice Harry and Reagan's stupid little game. But of course, Hailey keeping her eyes solely on Harry for the entirety of the twenty minutes she stood outside with Reagan, couldn't help but notice that Harry's stare was not solely resting upon her, and it was frustratingly strange. She was accustomed to being the center of attention, to being the girl that everyone wanted and wanted to be. So to see that Harry wasn't even glancing at her made her wonder why. She didn't think it could possibly be because of Reagan.

She turned to look at the chubby girl beside her, thinking that if she looked like that she wouldn't be able to ever step foot outside her door. From her mountainous breasts, to large thighs and the small rolls at her waist, she just couldn't imagine how people even thought that she and Harry were a thing. Pretty people belonged with pretty people, that was the unspoken rule. The only thing that looked beautiful to Hailey was Reagan's facial appearance, from her perfectly sculpted eyebrows above clear green and sparkling eyes, to prominent cheek bones on a pointed and heart shaped face. Had she been about forty pounds lighter and about a few feet taller, Hailey could see her modeling. But she wasn't. She was pretty faced, big boned Reagan Bailey. Meant to work behind the scenes and stay out of the spotlight.

But as much as Hailey wanted to believe that was the case, the way that Harry kept looking past her to Reagan made her start to believe otherwise. 

"Where are you going?" Reagan asked above the roar of the crowd, seeing as Hailey had turned her back to her and began walking back behind the stage. 

"I told you, I'm not staying for this whole thing. My migraine is starting to act up." Hailey replied, slipping on her sunglasses and continuing to walk, "I'll be back for the last number."

"Alright." Reagan said, feeling relieved that she wouldn't be under Hailey's judging stare for the rest of the show. She might have been absorbed in the whole 'Harry's watching me, oh god what do I do' thing, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel that judgmental look from Hailey. 

Hailey though, left with the vision of Harry endearingly watching Reagan as she swayed to the beat moronically, went backstage thinking that there was no way the pair would ever end up together. It just didn't fucking make sense, not when she was clearly his first and only option. She wasn't used to this, to being the one snubbed and ignored. It just didn't happen to her, ever. 

She watched the boys on the playback screen backstage and studied Harry. From that particular perspective it looked as if he could be singling out anyone in the crowd, as if he could be giving everyone that fond look. But she had already seen who it was meant for.

Hailey had never been disregarded nor ignored by boys that she liked, not ever. And she wasn't about to let it start happening now. 

—✴—

Reagan didn't get a chance to catch up with the boys after the show, seeing as they had been rushed off the stage and onto their bus before she even realized they were gone. So she got a lift back to the hotel with Hailey, and proceeded to get ready. 

She felt incredibly relieved to find that she had been given her own room, considering that the boys had to share. Then again, she figured they had enough money to get their own separate rooms. Perhaps it was just a personal choice so they would feel more at home. 

She sifted through her suitcase, only to find an outfit she had certainly not packed. She pulled it out and tilted her head, sighing loudly. Of course Kennedy would stuff it back into her already packed suitcase, she just couldn't help herself. But there was no way in hell Reagan would wear the black, obviously skin tight and knee length dress with the cutouts on the sides. No way. So she threw it back into the suitcase, pulled out some real clothes, and went on her way to get ready. But of course, just as she was about to slip on her dress there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she asked, struggling with the zipper.

There was no answer only another hard knock, so with a frustrated sigh, an unzippered dress, and bare feet she walked towards the door to look through the peephole. 

She opened the door without any hesitation and quite an amount of panic after seeing Harry standing there calmly as if he had come for afternoon tea.

"What the fuck!? We agreed your room!" She said in a harsh whisper as soon as she opened the door, pulled him in, and closed it swiftly behind him.

"I have a roommate." He said ironically.

"You said you didn't care yesterday!"

"Why are we whispering?"

"Get out." She said, in her normal tone of voice, realizing it was stupid to whisper.

"And get caught by the guards out there, I don't think so." He said. 

"How did you even get here in the first place?"

"Guard went to the toilet."

"They should know better than to leave you alone. You'd think they'd learn after all this time."

"Have you not yet finished getting ready?" He said, looking at the side of her dress, which was still unzipped. He stifled a laugh.

She blushed furiously, tugging at the unmovable zipper,"Well I was getting dressed."

"No need." He said, a smirk prominently upon his face.

"Get out!"

"Rae, shhh. They'll find out I'm in here." He said, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders.

"Oh my god, theyre going to be looking for you. Fuck, Harry! What about Hailey!? You don't think she's going to be wondering where you are?"

"Why should that matter?"

"She came out here to be with you! And all of a sudden you go missing!?"

"I leave to explore the city on my own regularly, it's not an abnormal thing. Besides, I told Louis to cover for me until I come back."

"What genius plan did the both of you hatch?"

"Vocal rest."

"That you're on vocal rest?"

He nodded, "Yeah, then no one can bother me because I can't talk. Unless you ruin it by continuing to make a scene and bring it to everyone's attention that I'm in your room."

Reagan crossed her arms, "Why are you in my room in the first place?"

"We already established I have a roommate."

"We couldn't have possibly done anything else?"

"Like what? Go for a stroll? Go for a bloody ice cream cone?"

She shook her head, "The sarcasm isn't needed."

"Do you just not want to be alone with me? Is that what it is? Because you did agree to come to my room, didn't you? And what's the difference between being alone there and being alone here?"

"You have a roommate." She muttered.

"Who was not going to be there. Or were you counting on him being there?" He asked, stepping closer, "Do I make you nervous, Rae?"

She wanted to look at him head on and confidently say, "No." but instead she took a step back and avoided eye contact.

"After all this time you still want to play games? Come off it, Rae. We both know how we feel don't we?" She didn't answer, couldn't find the words to say. So Harry took two steps forward, placing his arms around her and holding her body tightly to his, "I'm tired of waiting." He uttered. 

He wasn't expecting her to answer, not really. He was used to this constant tug and pull. So when she whispered, "Me too." He had to maintain his cool because she had completely blindsided him.

"Then what are we going to do about it?"

"I don't...I don't know."

He looked at her up and down, her undone hair, her natural face. She had to have been getting ready for sure, and he felt stupid for interrupting her and obviously making her feel more self-conscious, but he had never wanted her more than he did in that very moment. She just looked so incredibly vulnerable, ethereal, so incredibly unreal. He wanted to touch every inch of her. And Reagan could sense it, she could feel it by the way his eyes pierced hers, how they had darkened with desire. She felt afraid. Not for what could happen, but what would come of it. 

Sensing her growing apprehension, Harry leaned in slowly, tentatively brushing his lips lightly against hers. She shivered at his touch, it had just been so long. 

"Reagan, we have all the time in the world." He whispered, "Just let me know you're as into this as I am, and I promise you that we will take it as fast or as slow as you want." He kissed her cheek lightly, she felt her heart race. "But I need to know. I just need to know that you're still in this with me."

She nodded, "Yeah. I am."

He smiled sheepishly, "Brilliant. Then, well, would it be too forward of me to throw you onto that bed? Because I've been thinking of doing that since the moment I walked in here."

"Was it the half zipped dress?" She asked, her facing turning the brightest shade of red it ever had turned.

He smirked, pushing her towards the large bed, "Rae, it was every fucking thing about you."

She laughed as he pushed her onto her bed, her nerves knotting her stomach, but his touch calming her almost instantaneously. 

"It isn't just about this." He said, his body above hers. His nose almost touching the tip of hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer. He grinned at her enthusiasm, but continued regardless, "I don't just want this Reagan. Although, fuck." He said, clearly staring at her now slightly more opened dress revealing the lacy panel of her bra, "Believe me, it's fucking hard to restrain myself."

She went to close the zipper, or at least try to cover herself up, but Harry's eyes told her to not even attempt it so she stopped fidgeting beneath him. 

"We don't have to do anything." He said, clenching his jaw. Clearly he wanted more than to just kiss, but he could wait. He would wait. 

"But..."

"But?"

"What if I wanted to?" She asked shyly.

He felt his blood boil, his skin become flushed. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than to explore every inch of Reagan's beautiful ivory skin. And god, how it radiated her delicious lavender smell, how it felt so incredibly soft to the touch. There was simply nothing more that he wanted in that moment than her. 

He lowered his face against his better judgement and as his lips met hers hungrily, he felt her hands upon his sides, hot, heavy, burning through his clothing. His skin was on fucking fire, hyper aware of every one of her movements. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer, not if they continued at this pace. 

She breathed heavily as he moved his hands from the safety of the bed, to caressing her sides. Nervously his hand stopped wear the zipper began, he wanted to touch her skin. He needed to. But he knew once he started, he just wouldn't be able to stop. 

"Rae." He asked breathlessly, sounding as if he had just run a mile,"Is this okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah." Her eyes were wide from the loss of contact, her plump lips looking ridiculously enlarged from the forcefulness of their kissing, completely slick, almost cherry red. 

Reagan exhales as he gains the strength to trace her side, her bare skin beneath her obscenely sheer bra. Not that he could see anything, but just the mere sight of it was driving him completely mad. How he wished she were wearing a shirt, just so that he could run his hands freely up and down her curvy and completely ethereal body. 

She got goosebumps from his touch, he could feel them upon his palm as he attempted to pull the zipper even lower. But before he could her hand grasped his, "Not yet. Not here."

He nodded solemnly, taking his hand away from her dress and instead refocusing on her slick and parted lips. He tugged on her bottom lip, pausing only for a mere second, their lips barely touching but the electricity so strong between them that her hips rolled upwards, grinding into his from the mere roughness and neediness of his kiss.

"Fuck." He growled against her mouth as she pulled his hair, "That's not fair."

She smilingly panted "Life isn't fair, Styles."

He rolled off of her, knowing that if they took it even one mere touch further, he wouldn't be able to control his primal urges, "I should go."

She nodded, "Yeah."

But neither of them moved. Instead, Harry reached from his side of the bed for Reagan's hand and intertwined it with his own, "I don't want to go."

"You have to."

"I'm on vocal rest."

"Will they check on you?"

"Doubt it."

"What time do you have to be up by?"

He looked at the clock on her reading table, "Five."

"You're only going to sleep three hours?"

"Might as well sleep here then." He said.

"No! You have to go back to your room. What if someone catches you slipping out of here?"

"At five in the bloody morning?"

"When everyone else is getting up?"

"We're the only ones who get up at five, and Julian. That's it."

"You're sure?"

He nodded and she relented, "Fine. Stay."

He smirked, "You fancy me."

"Hmm." She uttered.

"And I fancy you."

"You know, I could still kick you out."

"But you won't."

"Oh my god, just go to sleep."

"What you're tired all of a sudden? We were just going at it two minutes ago."

"Harry!"

"Don't be embaressed. I'm just pointing out a-"

She turned to look at him, her cheeks flushed once more,

"Fine. Fine. I'll shut up."

But on the inside he was bubbling up with desire and excitement and ripples of feelings he hadn't felt...perhaps ever. And as he drifted off to sleep, he curled up next to her, placing a protective arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. The big spoon to her little spoon. It was all to perfect.


	71. Chapter 71

Harry couldn't fall asleep. He wanted to take it all in. Reagan's lavender scent, the feel of her soft hair, the touch of her skin. He didn't want to fall asleep because he knew that the moment that he did, that morning would come, and once more they would pretend as this had never happened, and he was fucking sick of it. He just wanted to do this every night. To be able to kiss her whenever he damn well pleased. To take her out to dinner and have her wait for him every night after a show. He didn't want this to end as every other encounter did. He just wanted to be with her. Why was that so fucking hard?

Eventually, though he did unwillingly drift into a light sleep. One that was easily broken by Reagan gently calling out, "Harry?"

He awoke, still bloody tired, but incredibly pleased. She was still in his arms, her face tilting slightly upwards to look at him. He smiled as he spoke, "Yeah?"

"It's five." She said, her voice a light, sleepy whisper.

"I don't have to go til half past the hour."

'You can't leave when everyone else is leaving.They'll know."

"Know what? That we're together? The boys already know how I feel about you, Rae. I don't think-"

"What about management? What about Hailey?" She didn't say it in an accusatory time as he was accustomed to hearing, instead she was merely stating facts. Management would surely fire her, but Hailey? Would Hailey knowing really change anything?

"What about them? We just keep it a secret from management until you're done with your internship. And Hailey? Would it really matter if she knew?"

Reagan's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

"She's a nice girl."

"Right."

"You don't think so?"

"No comment."

"What if I just sat her down and told her? She does know that this is a publicity stunt after all, you don't think she's expecting me to fall in love with her, do you?"

She sighed, "I don't know, Harry." Even though she clearly did. It was just too early in the morning and she was still jet-lagged. 

"Reagan?"

"Oh, full name. Must be serious." She joked.

"It is." He said, tightening his grip around her.

She rested her head upon his chest, listening to his heart beat more rapidly. 

"Rae?"

"Yes?"

"When I get up and leave, what's going to happen?"

"You're going to go record and I'm going to work on some promo stuff. Then you'll come back and pack, and we'll leave for Sweden in the morning." She said, rattling off their itinerary. 

"And we'll forget this ever happened?"

Reagan didn't respond.

"So it's going to be like that again?" He asked, his tone immediately changing.

"Harry." She tried. She honestly thought he was going to unwrap himself from her. That he was going to get up and leave. That he was done with playing this stupid little game and that he was tired of her already. After all, last night they had almost...well...But they didn't. It was obvious he wanted to. So what if that just added on to everything? What if her constant pushing him away had finally done it? What if he was finally done with trying to be with her?

But instead, he wrapped her tighter to him, pushing back her hair with a hand, and kissing her forehead with his warm lips, "I don't want you only sometimes, Rae. I want you all the time, always."

She couldn't bear to look at him, instead she buried her face into his chest. He grinned at her coyness, knowing that he had at least won this battle. 

"Look Rae, I know you want to wait until the internship is over, that's fine. We'll go public after. But...does that really mean we can't be together now, at least, you know, behind closed doors?"

"I...I want to be with you." She said, coming up for air and meeting his twinkling eyes, "I don't want to wait either. But-"

"Here we go."

"But." She continued, regardless, "We have to be careful. I don't want this getting out, Harry."

"I know."

"Okay." She said, shyly, still taking in the fact that this could be a normal thing. That she and Harry could do this all the time. That she could fall asleep in his arms and wake up to that smile. It was mad, absolutely mad. 

"Okay." He said as he tipped her chin upwards and tenderly pressed his lips to hers. Which of course made her want to never stop, especially as the tender, soft kiss evolved into a more needy affair of Harry rolling his tongue onto hers and Reagan just as fervently matching every motion that he made. But eventually their lips began to hurt, rubbed almost raw from the constant teasing bites and pulls, and bruised lips would only be a telling sign of what had occurred between them. So Harry hesitantly broke their embrace, frustrated and obviously showing it from the looks of his skinny jeans, "I uh, I better go." He said, getting up and pushing his long hair out of his face. He looked down and grimaced, turning a different shade of red than Reagan had ever seen before. Then she understood it was because he was attempting to pull his shirt over his apparent desire. 

Reagan, although twenty two, went pale. She of course had never done anything with a boy, anything. So seeing Harry in such a completely undone way because of her was while exhilarating, completely and totally scary. She immediately looked away, not quite ready to deal with any of that just yet. Although it was obvious they were going to have to, at some point...soon. 

He gently peeked through the peep hole and then motioned that he was going to open the door"I'm just gonna-" 

"Yeah." She said, nodding and sitting up on the bed, "Go, I'll see you later."

"Is that a promise?"

She smiled, "Go to work, Harry."

"It is a promise though, right? Because what I understood from that conversation was that I'm allowed to believe that from now on what just happened last night can happen basically anytime we please?"

"Well, as long as we have the privacy to, I don't see why not."

He leaned against the door, "You know it's not just about that though, right?"

"You made it explicitly clear."

"But it also kind of is because," He sighed loudly, an exasperated sigh that was full of want and anticipation, "Fuck, you're hot Reagan Bailey."

She blushed, "Full name again? I must be doing something right."

He winked, "So right, but so very wrong."

She laughed, "Get out! It's already five twenty."

"Tonight." He said before opening the door.

"We'll be on a plane, stupid."

He raised his eyebrows, "Guess we're joining the mile high club then, aren't we?"

—✴—

Harry made it three steps into his shared room with Louis before he heard, "Oh, so you finally decided to show up, then?"

He looked up to see Louis, already showered and dressed, leaning against the doorway leading into the bathroom. Harry rolled his eyes and turned to look at him, "I told you I was probably going to be gone a while."

"You stayed the entire night!"

"It was like four hours!"

Louis relented, curiously asking, "So...what did you do?"

"Nothing." Harry said nonchalantly. 

"What!? So you're telling me Reagan finally, finally, lets her guard down and lets you into her room and nothing happened?"

"If you're talking about sex, it didn't happen." Harry said, peeling off his shirt and pulling a clean one out of his suitcase for after he showered onto his bed. 

"You cut straight to the point." Louis muttered, "But what did happen then?"

He shrugged, "We fell asleep."

"And nothing else happened? I literally covered for you so you could go to sleep in her room? Do you know what happened after you ditched that guard!?"

"They looked for me?"

"Niall had to pay a room service attendant to pretend to throw up in the bathroom just so they would leave us alone!"

"Oh, so we didn't go with the vocal rest thing?"

"Does it matter what we went with!?"

Harry smirked, "So...do I have the flu?"

"You got food poisoning. Understandable since we haven't been to Norway in forever."

Harry nodded, "Alright." 

"So you and Reagan, you're alright then?"

"I'd say more than alright."

"Something did happen then?"

As he walked to the batroom, grabbing a towel and a change of boxers, Harry said over his shoulder, "Mate, you know I don't kiss and tell."

"Since when?"

He smiled, "Since I met Reagan."


	72. Chapter 72

They were a thing. They were a fucking thing and Harry was making it so incredibly clear by refusing to sit down and buckle his seat belt until he sat next to Reagan. She hadn't even boarded the plane yet, the boys as always were the first on and the last off, but he had already planned where they would sit and per usual someone had to ruin it. 

"I just don't understand why you can't move, Niall." Harry tried, looking at Niall as they were getting comfortable for the flight that would be taking them Sweden for the penultimate date on the European leg of their tour. The trip itself would only be a couple of hours, so Harry just didn't understand why Niall wouldn't just move and let him and Reagan have the best seat on the plane.

"I don't like to sit by Louis." He muttered, "He's mean when he's tired."

Liam and Louis snickered, watching as Harry failed to convince Niall. 

"Niall, come on mate, cut me some slack."

"What is the big deal? Just sit with Lou and sleep until we get there." Niall said, clearly not understanding that he needed to sit next to Reagan. He just kept sitting there, on the most coveted spot on the plane, writing in his journal. 

"Oh my god." Louis sighed, "Niall just fucking sit with me before the girls get on the plane and Hailey finds out why Harry's freaking out."

"Why is he freaking out?"

"He wants to sit with his girlfriend." Louis said, a wide smile upon his face. "And it just so happens you have the most private spot on the plan. What better place to snog?"

Harry turned to look at him defensively, but said nothing since that was in fact his plan of action. 

Niall laughed, "Wait? So fucking finally you grew a pair and asked Rae out?"

Harry looked down, "Not exactly."

"Shit, Harry. How long until you guys just finally come out with it, then? You're clearly into each other. As if anyone else couldn't see it. Just make it official already."

"It's not that easy I-" Harry stopped before he even got started, "Look we're getting there. The important thing right now is that I get that seat so I can at least spend some time with her."

"Yeah." Niall said, raising his eyebrows, "I'd say that's going to be some time very well spent."

Harry ended up physically pulling Niall out of the seat and throwing him and his journal into the aisle, having had exhausted all of his other options.

"The fuck?" Niall said, picking up his journal from the ground and fixing his baseball cap upon his head once more, "You could've just asked nicely."

"I did." Harry said, sitting in the now emptied seat, arranging his stuff onto the one next to him so that Reagan could claim it once she got onto the plane. 

Niall muttered incoherently, before he realized something, "Wait!"? Who's sitting with Hailey?"

Harry silently said, "Oh no." When he understood why Niall had asked. 

Niall smirked, "I guess it'll have to be me then."

Harry was about to say something, but figured he should just leave it alone, he had won after all. And Niall was pretty much harmless, he was just annoying. While he might attempt what he thinks is flirting, he won't actually do anything more than that. So it should be fine he figured. 

"Haz?" Louis asked from his seat.

"What?" 

"You guys for real this time?"

He nodded, "Seems like it."

"So we're not letting Hailey know?"

"Reagan doesn't seem to think it would be ideal."

"And it wouldn't be."

"Why?"

"Really?"

Harry looked up at him, "What, you don't think much of Hailey either?"

"I just know women, Harry. And I know that she is not going to be pleased if she finds out you and Reagan are-" He stopped to think, "Well, whatever the hell you bloody are."

"I think she's a nice girl."

"Yeah, you thought Taylor was too."

"She was."

"Until you broke it off with her." Louis reminded him. 

"This is not that." 

"You don't want to take my advice? Fine. But listen to Reagan, she has her reasons."

Harry nodded, leaning back in his seat and wondering why everyone seemed to have something against Hailey. Sure, sometimes she kind of just spoke without thinking, but he thought that was endearing. She was brutally honest, and that wasn't a terrible thing to be. 

"Wow, I wish I always heard that." Reagan said as she pulled her luggage onto the plane. She looked around to see Harry smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "Hey." She muttered, walking over to him with her two suitcases trailing behind her. 

He jumped up and took them from her, "Hey. I'll get those." His obnoxiously patterned silk button down shirt rose as he stretched to stow her luggage, and she couldn't look away from his exposed skin. She could see the leaves that trailed his hip bones, and blushed to herself. He noticed her stare and purposely took his time, slowly placing the luggage in its compartment. 

"God, pull your fucking shirt down mate. We get it, you shave." Liam said, pointing out Harry's lack of a happy trail. 

Harry, finding a pillow stowed away in the compartment, grabbed it and whipped it Liam with all his stregnth. Only to miss and hit Niall instead. 

"Oi! Fucking shit!" He yelped from his seat.

Reagan tried not to laugh as Harry quipped, "Sorry, mate!" He was clearly not sorry. 

Harry turned to look at Reagan as she laughed and he chuckled along with her, both of looking dreamily and clearly into each other when Hailey arrives. 

She clears her throat at the sight of Harry and Reagan clearly having a moment, and places a hand upon her slim hip, "Wow. What's so funny? I already missed something?" She asked, a forced smile upon her face.

"Oh, no. Nothing. Just lads being lads." Harry said, walking over to Hailey and taking her bags from her as well.

"You know we have people who do that." Liam said, looking at the bags in Harry's hands. 

"Yeah, but I like to do it sometimes.."

He placed Hailey's bags in the compartment above the seat where Niall was sitting, and upon witnessing that she immediately asked, "Wait, where am I sitting?"

Niall's arm wrapped around her seat as he cooly said, "Here, babe."

She pulled a face and looked at Harry pleadingly, "Can't I sit with you?"

Louis quickly interefered, already seeing the hesitation upon Harry's face, "Sorry, love. He and Reagan have some work to do. If you want I can sit with you instead of Niall." He clearly didn't want to, but he figured he'd do it for Harry and Reagan."

"No. It's um, it's fine." She said looking at Niall, then at Harry. "I'll make do."

Harry smiled and nodded, not understanding that it wasn't fine, "Brilliant. Get some sleep, I heard you're recording in the morning."

She nodded, "Yeah, Julian offered to help me with some of my stuff."

"He's the best. You know-" He was going to finish but was cut off by the pilot on the speaker.

You boys know the drill, buckle your seat belts and asses in the seat until the lights go on. The flight will be approximately two hours. Niall, for the love of God, please avoid using our bathrooms if you've already eaten. Thank you all kindly, we'll chat after the flight.

Niall groaned at the embarrassing comment, he had only gotten the runs once on the plane, it wasn't even his fault. But that didn't mean the boys wouldn't start laughing anyways. 

"Do I even want to know?" Reagan asked from her seat, buckling her seat belt as everyone else also began to settle in.

Harry shook his head, "It was pretty bad, even for Niall." He replied as he finally sat down next to her. He leaned in close and whispered, "See we do get to spend the night together."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but we're not joining the mile high club."

"Sure, love." He said, grazing her ear slightly with his lips before pulling away, "You keep thinking that.

—✴—

The flight would not be that long, yet most of plane was already sound asleep. The boys had spent the day writing and recording, as they spent most days "off". They were exhausted. Yet somehow Harry was still up and reading as Reagan worked diligently on her computer.

"You cold?" He whispered. 

"A little." She replied quietly. The air conditioner had been on a tad too high after all.

He nodded, pulling out a large blanket from under the seat. She felt as if he had almost planned it. 

"Here we go." He said, puling the armrest back and stretching it out upon both their laps. 

She looked up nervously, only to see the back of Hailey's head slumped against the window. She too had passed out cold. Luckily from their seat, they could see the entirety of the plane, but were so secluded that they couldn't be seen. Sure they were by the bathroom, but with it being a short flight it was unlikely anyone would actually bother them. She quickly realized it had been Harry's intention for them to sit in that particular seat from the moment he had probably gotten on the plane. 

As she tapped away on her keyboard, she found herself noting that Harry had become increasingly fidgity. He had wrapped himself up to his chest with the blanket, clearly trying to find some kind of comfortable position in which to nap, or at least she thought until she felt his large, warm hand upon her thigh. She turned to look at him, but he refused to meet her stare. Instead he traced her soft skin, starting at the knee and trailing dangerously high . 

"What are you doing!?" She whispered roughly.

He didn't respond, instead he began drawing circles on the inside of her left thigh. Her skirt was modestly cut, but his wrist was beginning to push it up towards her, making her flush. 

"You aren't stopping me." He clearly pointed out, still lazily tracing her soft, silky skin with his callused fingertips. 

She looked at him evenly as she removed his hand, "Consider this me stopping you."

"Did you really want me to stop? Or is it because of where we are?"

She hesitated, "I wanted you to stop."

"Because?"

"Harry, please."

"Is it really because I'm making you feel uncomfortable, or because you just don't know what to with yourself." He muttered as he leaned in closer and closer, his warm breath upon her collarbone. 

She gulped, "Both."

"I can work with both." He said with a devilish grin as he kissed her neck. 

"Harry." She breathed out, "We're on a plane, with the rest of the band, and Hailey."

"So?"

"So..." She started losing all the valid points as to why they should stop by every passing second that Harry was trailing kisses upon her. 

Yet the moment she heard Hailey's high pitched voice whisper, "Excuse me." as she got out of her seat, she quickly pulled away and pretended as if she were actually doing work. 

Harry though, remained heavy lidded and covered with the blanket, not really pretending to do anything other than trying to sleep. 

"Looks like you guys are working hard." Hailey said, hovering above them both. 

Harry smiled, "Just a tad tired, you know?"

"Yeah. You look comfortable, though." She said, pointing at the blanket they were sharing. "I'm sure it makes work so productive when you're able to be that close to each other."

"Incredibly." Reagan said, blushing furiously but grateful that the lights were off in the cabin. 

"Well, I was just going to use the toilet to freshen up, don't mind me." She said, walking past them, furry in every step.

When she closed the door behind her Reagan sharply turned to Harry and whispered, "You are such fucking trouble, Styles. You do understand my job is on the line, right?"

"You worry too much." He said, leaning back in his seat and smiling at her, "Besides, I doubt Hailey even noticed anything."

"Right." Reagan said, recalling the suspicious look upon Hailey's perfectly sculpted face, "I'm sure she didn't."


	73. Chapter 73

After having spent about three months with the boys, Reagan finally felt at least a bit more comfortable eating with them. Back in LA, she had already gotten used to sitting around with the boys after they had finished recording, and snacked on fruits or veggies while they pigged out on whatever junk they wanted that day. She was of course dying on the inside while politely munching on celery stalks, but she figured that if Harry saw her eating that he'd think she was okay. And if she pretended to be okay, she would eventually just actually be okay, which to be fair was a pretty legitimate system considering that she evolved from not being able to even eat a banana in front of Harry, to now eating an egg-white omelet across the table from him as he drank his smoothie. To say though that the voices inside her head had completely vanished would be a lie, they were always in a constant uproar around Hailey, but to say that they had been overpowered by more pressing matters would be fair to assume considering they weren't eating away at her as much as before.

Harry, stirring his smoothie with his spoon, watched as Reagan cut her omelet up and tentatively looked at it, and then over her shoulder. She had certainly come a long way. Had it been a few months ago she wouldn't have even come down for breakfast, she would be off somewhere pretending to be busy. But here she was, fresh off the plane, sitting in the hotel cafe with the boys. He wouldn't embarrass her, at least he wouldn't try to, but he was surprised at how much their relationship had changed in such a short time. After all, it hadn't been that long ago that they had their first kiss upon the beach. It hadn't been that long ago that they were running from mobs of fans. It hadn't even been that long ago since he had slept by her side for an entire night. It was funny really, he thought, how you could meet someone and feel as if you've lived a whole lifetime together, even if you've only known each other for a few days, or weeks, or months.

Harry looked at Reagan, and as she met his stare she slightly smiled. Reagan was changing for sure, not only had she begun eating in front of him confidently, but she also met his gaze with just as firm a stare. It actually kind of turned him on. Then again, everything about Reagan was starting to do that. 

"Seriously? Who the fuck ate all the bacon?" Niall said, sleepily scratching his head and interrupting Harry's thoughts.

Louis raised his hand, "Guilty."

"You know I can't function without my bacon."

"Just wait until they make some more." Louis shrugged.

"They're not going to make anymore, it's bloody three in the afternoon. They only made us this breakfast because we came in and passed out during regular hours." He puffed. "Where's Hailey by the way? Didn't see her on the way down." Niall started piling on pancakes and sausages onto his plate, along with other delicacies that were only native to Finland. They had arrived in the early morning, straight after their concert in Sweden, where Reagan and Harry had another secret little rendezvous in his dressing room, but that was a story for another time. 

Reagan looked down at her nearly empty plate and then at Niall, "I'll go check on her. She might just be sleeping still."

So Reagan excused herself and walked the corridors of the extravagant hotel in which they were staying to find herself in front of Hailey's door. She knocked twice, and upon hearing a 'it's open!' walked into the room. She found Hailey, half dressed, hair still wet from her shower, trying on different outfits.

"Oh, sorry." She muttered, clearly embarrassed by the sight of Hailey's exposed stomach and lacy pink bra. 

"Not a problem. It's nothing you don't have." She turned to look at Reagan, "Or well, kind of I guess."

Reagan blushed, "The boys were just wondering where you were." She tried avoiding eye contact. The last thing she needed was a picture of perfect Hailey in all her glory embedded in her mind.

"That's sweet. Did Harry ask?"

"Actually it was Niall."

"Oh." She replied flatly, putting on a tight tank top and finally buttoning her skinny jeans.

"It was all the boys, really." Reagan said, knowing that Hailey's disappointment would just lead to whining she just wasn't up to hearing for the next twelve hours. 

As Hailey began putting on her makeup, she strangely motioned for Reagan to sit on the bed beside her. Cautiously Reagan approached her and sat down, "What's up?" She asked Hailey as she applied her foundation.

"You know, I really do think you have a thing for Harry." Reagan sighed, but that didn't stop Hailey from continuing, "And the thing is that I think you're confused."

"What?"

"He's a good guy, you know? He would never say it to your face, but Reagan," Hailey said, putting her compact down onto the bed, "You're just not good enough to be seen with him. He doesn't really like you. He pities you."

"Excuse me?"

"Why do you think all of his exes talk so much shit about him? Because he leads everyone on, that's just who he is. He'll make you feel like you're the most important person in the world, like you really matter, but in the end, you just won't."

"And what makes you think you're different?" Reagan said before she could stop herself.

"Unlike Taylor, Kendall, and all the rest, I'm me. Let's be honest, I have it all. Can't you tell by the way he looks at me? He's just polite, he's waiting for me to show I'm into him too." Hailey said, with so much belief in her own words that Reagan was astounded.

"Right."

Hailey turned to look at her sharply, "Besides, his management would never hear of you two being anything more than co-workers. Don't you remember what I told you? Pretty people belong with pretty people. You, well, you aren't pretty, Reagan. I know I'm being rude, but wouldn't you rather hear this from me than have Harry break your heart in a few weeks? Save yourself the heartbreak. Stop mooning around him every time you see him, it's so incredibly obvious you're into him. Take it from a friend who has your best interest at heart." Hailey said, grabbing Reagan's hand in hers, "It's only us two girls out here on our own. We have to look out for each other."

All Reagan could think while Hailey held her hand was how incredibly twisted she was, so fucking maniacal. How dare she do something like this. Of course Reagan couldn't respond back to her, she couldn't tell her what a fucking superficial bitch she was without losing her job, without fucking up her career. Instead she had to sit there, letting Hailey hold her hand, holding back bitter, angry tears. Because even though Reagan wanted so badly not to believe in what Hailey was saying, she knew she was right. Pretty people belong with pretty people. Her and Harry, perhaps their future only consisted of dressing room romps and sneaky late night hotel visits. Maybe they could never have a normal relationship. And that would be solely on her, wouldn't it?

"Reagan?"

"Yeah?"

"You fancy Harry, don't you?"

She knew that if she conceded this point to Hailey, she would never come back from it. But Hailey knew, and Reagan knew that she knew. Harry could always play it off as his flirty self, and everyone would believe him. Like Hailey said, he was like that to everyone. He was just so incredibly good and loving. So how could Reagan know if what he felt was real? How would anyone believe that he was in love with her? They wouldn't. It's that easy. They fucking wouldn't because the Harry Styles' of the world don't fall in love with girls like Reagan Bailey. What they had didn't have a label, Reagan figured in that moment, because perhaps it was never meant it. It wasn't important enough to have one. She loved him, she did. But would that be enough to face this cruel world? 

Reagan shook her head, "No. I told you, I'm not into him. He's my friend. That's it." She wasn't ready to let him go, even if he didn't love her. Even if their relationship would never be more than what they had now. She loved him, and she wanted to believe that everything he had said was true. She wanted it so badly to be. And she was tired of conceding everything to the Hailey's of the world who believed they were entitled to every little thing their heart desired. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. "Strictly professional." She said, pulling her hand back from Hailey's. "But thanks for the advice, I'm so glad we have each other to lean on."

"No problem." Hailey said, a fake smile plastered upon her face. She was clearly not buying anything that Reagan was saying, making her more determined to win Harry's love. "Tell the boys I'll be right there. I'm almost done getting ready."

"Sure thing." Reagan said, calmly getting up from the bed and walking towards the door.

"Wait, before you go. How do I look?" Hailey was clearly showing off her perfect figure, again, and Reagan knew that.

With that anger still flaming within her she looked Hailey up and down and smiled to herself, "You should wear a different top." She said, even though the tight top looked perfect on Hailey.

"What, why?"

"Just looking out for you, Hails. We only have each other. Wouldn't want you walking out there looking bad, would we? I mean, it's a beautiful top, just not on you."

And as Hailey looked at herself with a furrowed brow in the mirror, Reagan saw her way out of her room. She chuckled to herself in the hallway, she wasn't usually catty, but she was sure the situation called for it. Besides, she had a feeling things were about to get much cattier.


	74. Chapter 74

The thing about Hailey was that as shallow as she may have acted, she was not stupid by any means. Much like the boys she had been groomed to act a certain way in order to gain stardom as quickly as possible. She was to be beautiful, coquettish, coy, sweet, and most importantly not act as if she were that incredibly intelligent. They told her that intelligence was off-putting, that a pretty face with shallow words was worth much more in this world. She was supposed to be the beautiful new pop sensation, witty at appropriate times, and charming 24 hours of the day. Thus, watching Reagan not having to constrain herself to the same labels, she found herself envying her, especially as Reagan laughed so incredibly hard that she began snorting. Hailey would have been mortified, she would excuse herself from the room and locked herself in the ladies' room until the embarrassment had passed. But there was Reagan, the boys laughing at her and saying how endearing she was.

She didn't understand it. She was brought up in a world where boys liked pretty, thin, delicate girls. All of her life her mother had chided her for wanting to play outside, for wearing baggy clothes, for not having every hair in place. So she began to absorb her mother's criticisms, began to believe that the world would see her in the same way. She began to believe that society judge's one's character solely on the way they look, and so she began to focus more on her hair and clothes than being a good person.This of course does not excuse Hailey's shitty personality, but it makes it understandable to see what kind of children are being raised in a society that's so fixated on what they define as beauty. 

Beautiful and smart as she may have been, Hailey didn't see past labels. She just couldn't. She had been brought up to believe that if she was beautiful, she'd get everything that she'd ever want. And there she was, as beautiful as a super model with the voice of an angel. Watching as chubby Reagan Bailey obviously flirted with the boy Hailey had come to fancy, she felt her blood boil. And what irked her the most? That he really seemed to be reciprocating, much more than if he were just being polite. In fact, he seemed to be flirting as well. His eyes were heavy-lidded, pupils dilated as Reagan giggled and looked away. Hailey could feel a vein throbbing on the side of her head. She recalled the pair on the plane. The excuse of "doing work". Sometimes the perks of people thinking you're stupid is that they don't try as hard to cover up something because they don't think you'll figure it out. She knew that she could use that to her advantage in figuring out if Reagan and Harry actually, by some miracle, were involved. 

"Hails?" Niall asked, watching pensive Hailey as she picked at her food.

"I told you not to call me that." She muttered.

"I like Hails, sounds cute." Harry said, looking away from Reagan for the first time since they had sat down together.

Hailey shrugged, hiding a smile, "I guess it's fine then."

Niall rolled his eyes, but continued nonetheless, "You excited to be recording with Julian?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. I haven't met him yet, but Lydia's said he's the best."

The boys nodded around the table in agreement, "Yeah, he is."

She looked across the table at Reagan and stretched her arm across to place a hand across hers, "Thanks for the advice about the shirt, by the way." She smiled, "I'm so glad we're friends. No one would ever be that honest with me."

Reagan smiled just as sweetly, "Anytime, Hails."

"You should help me pick out an outfit for the concert tonight. I imagine we're going to be photographed, right?" She asked, looking at Harry.

"Yeah," He replied, "We all got the email from Lydia, right?"

The boys nodded, Louis rolled his eyes, "Of course, we're always being pulled into your publicity stunts."

Harry looked at him evenly, wanting to remind Louis it was his fault he was in this mess in the first place, but then he remembered no one else knew about Louis becoming a father so he held back what he thought was a great snarky remark.

"It's just a group outing, nothing big." Reagan said, pushing her now empty plate aside, "But I'll be happy to help you pick out an outfit, Hailey." Reagan added with all the fake friendliness she could muster.

The boys, other than Harry that is, could sense the tension between the two girls. They weren't surprised, especially not that Harry didn't notice, but they figured it would all work itself out.

"Long day ahead of us, mates." Liam said, picking up his plate and motioning for the boys to get a move on. 

Hailey looked at Reagan, before Reagan could even say goodbye to Harry, "Let's both go to the studio. I'm sure you have nothing else to do today."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Reagan said, meeting Louis' eyes and seeing that he was completely and utterly confused at what was happening, "Let me just grab my laptop so I can work on some stuff."

"Perfect."

—✴—

It's funny when girls are at odds with each other, it's when they become the nicest. At least, on the surface. Harry noted how swimmingly both Reagan and Hailey were getting along, and couldn't help but hope this meant Reagan had a change of heart. After all, he didn't want the two of them hating each other, not when they would have to still spend some time together.

The past day he had watched as Hailey began hovering around Reagan much more so than before, and Reagan was uncharacteristically nice towards her, some may even say friendly. They had spent the entire day at the studio together, and he had even run into them when they were heading back to their rooms to change. They were both talking to each other! Nicely! He loved it. He hated when people fought, couldn't stand it. 

He noted this as he changed in his room, getting ready for the last concert of the European leg of the tour. Louis was whistling in another corner of the room, running a comb through his damp hair. 

"Mate, you think Reagan and Hailey are getting on alright?"

Louis didn't bother looking at him, already knowing what Harry was thinking. Louis though had quickly figured out that the change in the two girls' relationship was a strategic one. He kept trying to think of the saying he had heard, 'What was it? Keep your friends close and your...enemies close? Yeah, that's the one.' He nodded to himself, which Harry interpreted as Louis agreeing with him.

"Yeah, right? I think they're friends now."

"Oh." Louis said turning to look at him, "I wasn't nodding at you. God, no, Harold they're not friends."

"What? But they're acting so nice to each other."

"You don't know anything about girls, do you?"

"I know plenty about girls."

"Harry." Louis sighed, "I just wouldn't put much trust in Hailey, okay? I know you like her and think she's a great person, like you do of everyone."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

"Sometimes it is." He muttered. "But, whatever. Just be careful with her intentions with Reagan. Reagan much just reciprocate because she doesn't want to lose her job, but they're not about to make a blood pact and swear allegiances to each other."

"Is that what girls do when they're best friends?"

"I don't bloody know...I guess...probably."

"Huh."

"That's not the point! Just, you know, don't go flaunting it around that you and Reagan are together, I think Hailey actually does fancy you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Harry, what girl that you've fake dated hasn't fallen into a psychotic type of love with you?"

"Psychotic?"

"A whole album, Harry. A normal person doesn't do that about a fake relationship."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Look, I just want to see the best in everyone. If Hailey does something to prove me wrong, then I'll reconsider my opinion of her. But right now, I have no reason to."

"By the time she gives you a reason it might be too late." Louis said cryptically as he finished putting his shoes on.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Louis shrugged, "Just be careful. Reagan has a lot more to lose than we do."

Harry rolled his eyes, annoyed that Louis acted as if he didn't know that. He just wanted to see the best in people, was that really so wrong?


	75. Chapter 75

For the first time in a very long while, the boys were actually allowed to go out after a show. Julian had told them to take the night off because he wasn't about to fight Lydia on her 'plan'. And the boys? Well, they were just happy they could go get buzzed in a club where people might not recognize them. Then again, they knew better than to actually believe that would ever happen. Best case scenario, they were recognized but not bombarded. They were known, but not that popular Finland compared to England or the US.

Harry had quite a fondness for Northern Europe, particularly Finland and Norway. In Finland two years ago, he had chatted up a girl at his hotel, a fan who wanted an autograph and ended up telling him about a party that was going on later that night on a bus after their show. It had intrigued him, more because it would piss off management than anything else—he was in his overly rebellious stage then. So he went, didn't think about it twice. He escaped out of his hotel room, ditched his guards, stole the keys to a security van, and drove to the address the little blonde had written for him on his coffee-stained paper napkin. He arrived at a school bus, a little surprised but mostly overwhelmed. There was so much energy, the whole party was a buzz. They knew who he was the moment he stepped in, but they treated him like any other kid who was graduating secondary school. They drenched him in cheap beer, made fun of his hair, made him sing karaoke. He had the time of his life. For the first time in such a long time he had felt as if he belonged. As if those drunken kids around him didn't care that he was famous, that he didn't even speak the same language as them. They only cared that he had enough beer in his cup and that he never had enough time to catch his breath. So yeah, he had a fondness for Northern Europe, because much like Reagan, it made him feel as if he were home.

That night in particular Harry felt that same excitement again. He knew that somehow, even though Paul wasn't there with them, that he'd be dragged back to their hotel by security. In fact, he made it his goal for the night. He was going to have fun damn it, and it wasn't fun if he followed the rules, was it?

The rest of the boys were equally as excited, Liam having flown in his girlfriend Sophia for the last show, and Niall having picked up a cute girl at the hotel bar. And then there was Louis, who had started drinking the moment he had gotten off the stage. He didn't want to think about the fact that there was the possibility that he was going to be a father. In fact, he wanted to live the night freely, to forget about everything and everyone. The only way to do that though, was to get so pissed off his ass he forgot his own name. 

Harry though was too distracted to pay attention to his mate Louis' crumbling disposition because he was so wrapped up in coming up with a plan to get Reagan alone. He figured that maybe he should spend some time with Hailey, just as Lydia wanted, but the moment he knew their picture was taken he'd go into stealth mode and attempt to sneak away with Reagan into a side room or corner where he could snog her in peace until he bloody well pleased. 

"God, why won't my fucking hair stay in fucking place." Niall muttered, looking at himself in the mirror one last time before they left the hotel.

"Just put a hat on." Liam said, throwing Niall's signature cap at him.

Niall muttered but took the cap and put it on.

"Classic club wear, Nialler." Louis said, chuckling to himself.

"Fuck you." Niall said, adding in an impolite gesture with his hand.

Louis simply laughed, not quite drunk but definitely buzzed.

"Can we get going?" Harry impatiently said. 

"Keep your pants on Haz, we're going." Louis muttered, grabbing his bottle off the dresser and walking towards the door, "Wouldn't want to keep your girlfriends waiting."

Harry rolled his eyes, but followed Louis, grateful that they were at least finally leaving. 

—✴—

There was loud, unintelligible music playing. The reverberation of the sound beating through Reagan's body as if it were her own heartbeat. It was too loud to even think within the club, especially within the small area the boys had reserved for themselves. She wasn't accustomed to the atmosphere, never a fan of clubbing. 

In the booth she found herself cramped beside Sophia and Louis, both whom she was comfortable with so she found it was no big deal. It wasn't the first time she associated with Liam's girlfriend, but it was the first time they actually managed to bond seeing as they had now exchanged more than mere pleasantries. She actually quite liked Sophia, especially since she missed having Kennedy around. In fact she just missed someone who didn't drive her up the wall like Hailey did. 

As much as she wanted to relax though, Harry had gone off to the dance floor to please Hailey who had not-so-subtly been hinting that Harry had gone there for one thing, and that was to be seen with her. Harry wrote it off as Hailey simply wanting to do her job though, as he always did. But Reagan, she was fuming more by the second. 

"Shot?" Sophia murmured in Reagan's ear, tilting a completely full shot glass towards her. 

"No, I'm good."

"It'll help you relax." She said, tipping the glass in Reagan's direction.

"I'm fine."

"Your vein is about to pop out of your head, babe." Sophia said, grabbing Reagan's hand and placing the glass in it, "If you don't want anyone to think you're jealous, take a shot and smile."

"Jealous of what?'

Sophia's eyes glanced towards the spectacle Hailey was putting on, grinding against Harry as he laughed, obviously embarrassed.

"I don't-"

"Fancy him? Oh, come on now Reagan. I thought we were better friends than that."

"Liam told you, didn't he."

She laughed, "Even if he hadn't, I would've figured it out. Quite smart, even though I don't look it."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Mostly by the way he looks at you." Sophia said, playing with the straw in her drink.

Reagan didn't know what to say to that, so she didn't say anything at all. Which, of course, was just as much an answer. 

"You both are quite fond of each other, aren't you?" Reagan simply nodded discretely, making Sophia smile in delight, "Just take the shot, loosen up. The fondness he has for you isn't going to go away that easily."

Reagan hesitantly tipped the glass to her lips and grimaced as the alcohol went down her throat. She had nothing to lose after all. Tomorrow they were heading back home, Harry was currently preoccupied with Hailey, and she figured that yeah, she should loosen up. 

Louis lifted his own glass, "That's the spirit Reagan Bailey! Drink your troubles away!" He grabbed her empty glass and filled it, along with his. "To hell with it!" He said, taking a shot and holding up Reagan's to her face. He was obviously drunk. 

Reagan pushed his hand away laughingly, "No thanks."

He shrugged, downing her shot as well and looking up to say, "Can't have it go to waste." Which made both her and Sophia laugh even louder. 

"You need to slow down, Lou." Niall said as he approached the table, on his way back from the bar.

"What!?" Louis said, obviously not hearing him over the music.

"You need to slow down!"

"Slow what down!?"

"Oh for fucks sake, forget it." He said, waving him away and taking his seat across from them. He nursed his own pint, which Louis eyed as his own glass was empty. Niall turned to look at the dance floor, his lips pressed together in a frustrated grimace, "I just don't get it."

"What?" Sophia asked. 

"How does he pull all these girls!? He isn't even fucking interested in her!"

"He's a nice guy." 

"I am too!"

"Yeah, okay." Sophia said, taking a slight sip from her drink, "I'm going to go find Liam, he must be trying to convince the DJ to let him spin for a while."

"He takes his side job seriously." Reagan said with a laugh.

Sophia rolled her eyes with a smile, pulling down her skirt and grabbing her glass, "If only we were all that dedicated." 

Watching as Sophia sauntered off, Louis turned to look at Reagan. He placed an arm around her shoulders and leaned in closer to her before he spoke, "You know."

"Hmmm?" She could smell the alcohol on his breath, it made her noise crinkle slightly as he breathed in and out.

"That Hailey girl doesn't stand a chance."

"You're drunk."

"You're sober."

Reagan smirked, "What's your point, Louis."

"Don't worry about Harry. He just wants to see the best in everyone."

"And?"

"And?" He repeated, clearly confused and slurring slightly, "I'm sure I had a bloody point. I just can't seem to rem-remember it."

"It's for the best." 

"N-No! Reagan! I had, I had a fucking point!" He said, getting louder. Loud enough for Niall to hear and start chuckling.

"Oh my god, what is it then!?"

"Fuck. I...It was something to do with the curly haired one. How Harold really feels-"

"No, it's fine Louis, I get it."

"I have to say it!"

"Just fucking say it then, Jesus Christ!" Niall said clearly enjoying the situation. 

"Harry! He loves you President Reagan Bailey!" Louis practically shouted, lifting his arms up in an exaggerated motion "Fucking over the moon about you! Won't even tell us if you two have fucking boned yet!"

"Excuse me?" Reagan gasped.

"Well he hasn't." Niall added.

"But god! He loves you! Get over yourselves and just fuck already!"

"I think I'm done with this conversation." She tried not to laugh, just to show him how mad he had made her, but he was too drunk to notice or care.

"Harry and Reagan sitting in a tree! K! I! S! S! I! N! G!"

"Good god, this is priceless." Niall said, "A once in a lifetime occurance."

Reagan pushed Louis out of the way to get out of the booth, but he continued talking anyway, "Get good shots at me while you can Nialler. Soon," He hiccuped, "I'm going to be a daddy. And the missus won't let me come out at night with the lot of you."

"We still have a good few years before all that happens, mate."

Louis smiled secretively, "Nuh-uh."

Reagan's head shot up immediately, "What do you mean, nuh-uh?"

Louis' smile became even wider, "I'm going to be a daddy Reagan! In.." he tried counting the months off his fingers, but lost count at three, "Well, however long it takes to make one of those things."

"YOU WHAT!?"

"It's the liquor Reagan, it fucking has to be!" Niall said, putting down his phone. 

Louis shook his finger, "No. No amount of alc-alchy" He lost his train of thought but continued anyway, "Drinking doesn't make me forget. I'm going to be a daddy. A dad. A proper dad."

"Oh fuck." Muttered Reagan, sitting down immediately. "We need to get him out of here, before he tells the entire club."

"I'll round everyone up." Niall said, jumping from his seat and leaving his whole pint behind, which Louis reached for and Reagan took away from his grasp.

"What in the hell."

"No more." Reagan said, "I need you sober. You need to tell me what's going on."

"Why?"

"Because, aside from me and Harry being together, you might have actually made the biggest news of the year."

"My baby?"

"Yeah, Lou. Your baby."


	76. Chapter 76

Upon getting back to the hotel, Reagan did not inform the other boys what Louis had told her in a drunken stupor. She also made sure that Niall stayed mum, even though she knew how hard it would be for him to keep it to himself. She knew how rumors started, and she needed to make a plan of action before anything, anything got out.

She knew though that if anyone knew anything it would be Harry. 

So at about five in the morning, after making sure the coast was clear, she found herself walking down the hallway to Harry and Louis' room. She went a package of antacids as an excuse, just in case she was caught by anyone. 

She knocked on the door slightly and within an instant there was Harry's sleepy face, a smile slowly unfurling upon it, "What a surprise."

Reagan showed him the box, "Figured he might need these."

"Thoughtful as ever." He said, opening the door and letting her in.

The room was quiet, the lights dimmed. Louis was snoring peacefully upon his bed, and Harry had clearly been up writing and looking over him. 

"Sit." He said, motioning to the bed and pulling away the loose sheets of paper and his leather bound journal, "Don't mind him. He's so bloody pissed off his arse that you could probably scream and he wouldn't even stir."

"Why would I scream?" Harry winked, making Reagan roll her eyes, "I walked right into that one."

"That you did." 

He sat next to her upon his bed, intertwining his hand in hers. She smiled, surprisingly comfortable with the amount of intimacy they had been sharing as of late. She wasn't sure what it was, but she hadn't been doubting herself in the slightest, not even when Hailey had been attempting to tear her down. Okay, so she wouldn't be putting on all the clothes Kennedy had snuck into her suitcase, but it was start. It was definitely a good start. 

"So, you didn't just come in here to give Lou some pain reliever did you?"

"That was one of the reasons."

"We both know you didn't come here just for that, don't play coy, Rae."

She shrugged, "Something was kind of bothering me. It's stupid, I guess. But I thought I should ask you."

"Out with it, then."

Reagan was about to speak when she heard Louis moving around in his bed.

"Stop yelling!" Louis murmured loudly. Harry simply threw a pillow at him and before it even hit Louis he was snoring again. Typical.

"Don't mind him." Harry said.

Reagan nodded, "Louis said something rather interesting while we were talking at the club earlier."

"He is at his best when slightly buzzed."

"Yeah, well, he said he was going to be a father."

Harry's eyes went wide, and before he could cover for Louis his expression completely gave it away.

"So it's true!?"

"Shhh!" 

"Oh now you care about how loud we are?"

"We can't do this here." He murmured, grabbing Reagan's arm and leading her towards the door. She let herself be led, because well, she figured he was right. Anyway, no one would be up at this hour, not after a night of partying. 

"Well we can't stay here." Reagan whispered as they stood in the hallway in front of Harry's room.

"Yeah, we'll go to your room."

"Fine." Reagan rolled her eyes, "But this just feels like an excuse for you to go into my room again."

"Ah, you catch on quick."

—✴—

"Okay, look. Before you get mad, you need to understand it from his point of view."

Reagan crossed her arms and looked at Harry evenly, "Try me."

Harry sighed loudly, "We were going to tell you, to tell all of you. No one knows, only me and Louis. And well...obviously Brianna."

"Brianna? Is that her name? Oh wait. Is that the girl he's been papped with lately?"

Harry nodded.

"Oh god, great. Just wonderful. The press is going to love this story, aren't they?" And then she realized how bitchy that sounded, "Fuck, sorry. How is Louis doing? Well, obviously not too well."

"He was doing better. It's just that Brianna called before the show last night, saying she was going to be in LA and wanted him to go with her to her doctor's appointment. It freaked him out, you know? Like I know he tries to play it off, but it's a big deal. And the only way he actually copes with it is either ignoring the problem or drinking when can't ignore it any longer."

"It's a lot to deal with."

Harry nodded, "That's why he wanted to wait. He just didn't think it was the right time yet, not with a story that big. That's why I had to agree to dating Hailey, you know? To not stir up any trouble."

As aggravated as Reagan was getting because of the whole situation, she was completely floored by what Harry had said. 

"Wait." She said, taking a breath, "You agreed to Lydia's little PR stunt to take some of the heat off of Louis?"

"Are you mad?"

Reagan didn't know what she was. She was breathless, her heart was racing, her body felt lighter than it ever had. She had spent days and nights wondering why Harry had agreed in the first place, thinking it was just because she had made him. Thinking that she had ruined all prospects of them being together. Yet there they were, in her bed at six in the morning having a chat about how he really just agreed to the stunt in order to cover for his best mate. She felt happy and foolish and angry. Angry because she just wished he had told her. Because that would have saved her all of that worry and apprehension. But in the end she figured, it didn't matter. They were together and the whole Hailey thing was exactly what it should be, absolutely nothing.

But instead of saying all this she leaned over and punched Harry's arm, making him yelp, "What the hell?"

"Yes I'm mad!"

"I told Louis we should tell you." He muttered, rubbing his arm.

"And what did Louis say?"

"Not to, because you would tell Lydia."

Reagan sighed, she probably would have before. But now...

"But you're not going to, right?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"We have a plan, Rae."

"And what is the plan, Harry?"

He smiled, "Well, you and I will get to be together."

"How? You're going to be dating Hailey by Tuesday when we get back to LA. Pictures of you guys dancing yesterday have to already be up on blogs everywhere."

"Well think about it, what's bigger news? Us, or Louis having a baby?"

She nodded apprehensively, "That is a good point."

"But?"

"But...I don't think I'm ready for this."

"For what? To come out to the public?"

"I just...Don't you remember you told me that you wouldn't push me out into the spotlight? That I wouldn't get photographed or stalked?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think is going to happen if we come out as a couple?"

"The buzz will die down."

"Yeah, but...I just..."

She wasn't ready. She was so not ready for this. Yeah, she was okay with being with Harry in private, but after all that had happened, she hadn't even had the nerve to reactivate her social media accounts. So the mobs in front of her house had only appeared once, it still happened. She was still marked as the 'girl linked to Harry Styles'. She was the whole fucking reason Hailey was flown in for christ's sake. She was lucky to even still have a job. How could they come out as a couple now? She would surely lose her job, her reputation, her entire career. She wouldn't be able to leave her house, not unless she wanted to be on the cover of some tabloid or the headline on TMZ. It didn't matter if Louis was having a baby or not, she wasn't ready to lose everything she had worked for. 

"Harry, we agreed we'd go public after I finished the internship with the label." She said calmly.

"I know we did. I know, Rae. But don't you think this is an opportunity we should think about? People will be so preoccupied with what's happening with Louis that-"

"I know, Harry. But that doesn't change the fact that I broke the rules. That I'm going to be fired once Lydia finds out."

"Oh." He replied.

"Oh? That's it?"

He breathed out and laid back on her bed, "Why is life so bloody complicated?"

She shrugged. 

"I know this job is important to you, Rae. Don't think I forgot, because I didn't. I just figured..."

"It's okay."

He slyly pulled her back onto the bed, wrapping her into his embrace, "The important thing is that we're together right?"

"Like?"

"Like I'm your boyfriend, you're my girlfriend?"

"I thought we didn't need a label."

"We don't. But we have one."

"Who decided?"

"You, when you couldn't keep your hands off of me."

"I think it's the other way around." She said, looking down at how his hands were already pressing her body to his.

He laughed, "Well, yeah. Fuck." He muttered, pressing his lips against hers, "Can you blame me?"

"Stop." She said, squirming in his grasp as she usually did when she felt flustered. 

But for once he did stop, making her look at him.

"Rae?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you think that I did accept to date Hailey?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

"You have to had been thinking something. I know you."

"It doesn't matter now."

He stayed quiet, only for a second, but it felt like hours to Reagan. The truth was Harry had known Reagan would most likely say no to going public before the seven months, but he was just so impatient. He wanted to tell the world that Reagan was his, that he finally found the person he loved. Cheesy, yeah, but he was just so incredibly smitten from the moment he met her, and he was just so fucking tired of hiding from the world. But he also knew how incredibly practical she was, how focused she was on her goals. He didn't deserve to take that away from her, not because he was some impatient dick. The thing was though, that Reagan had no idea why Harry had said yes to dating Hailey. And now he was scared that the awkward space that had grown between them before was in fact because of that. He was sure of it, actually. 

"It does. We never talked about why we had the bit of awkwardness between us."

"All that time ago?"

"Rae, it was like two weeks ago."

"I just..."

"Out with it, Bailey."

"I thought you were doing it because you, I don't know, because you wanted to."

"I told you I didn't."

"Yeah, but then you changed your mind."

"I'm free to change my mind, and besides you told me that I should do it."

"Because I'm clearly stupid." She said, burrowing her face in his chest.

He chuckled, "So you didn't want me to be with Hailey?"

She shook her head.

"Is that what you were coming to tell me that day?"

She hesitated before nodding. Yeah, she was going to tell him she loved him, but she couldn't tell him that without first actually admitting that she did in fact love him. And well, even though she had come on a mission to tell him so, she found that it was better to wait. Not that she was waiting for a perfect moment, but she figured that maybe right now this was enough. They didn't need to say it. She loved him, it was clear. Soon enough she figured that they'd actually articulate the words. Just like they articulated what they were just now. Which just kind of hit her. 

"Were you jealous then? Tonight at the club?" She didn't make any movement, which made him tilt her head up to look at him, "You were, weren't you? Wished it was you and me dancing like that?"

"What? So you did it on purpose?"

He chuckled, "No, Hailey's just a bit forward I guess. It was all in good fun though."

"Uhuh."

"You were so jealous." She burrowed her head back into his chest, and this time he just pulled her tighter to him, "You know me and Hailey are just playing a part. How are you going to cope when we get back to LA?"

"Sometimes I think you're enjoying this." She muttered.

"Well, you being jealous just means you're really quite fond of me, aren't you?"

"You're so full of it." She said in a muffled voice, breathing in the smell of his cologne and warm skin. She drifted off to sleep almost immediately, surrounded by his arms and the sound of his heart beating.


	77. Chapter 77

By the time both Harry and Reagan had woken up, it was about noon. Reagan turned to look at Harry, still in a peaceful stupor, before she realized where they were and what time it was.

"Wake up!" She sat up and .whispered harshly, shaking him with both her hands.

He mumbled almost incoherently, "No not the banana, take anything you want but not-"

"What?" She said, trying not to laugh.

He opened his eyes, "Oh, Rae."

"Right." She said, "And I wasn't trying to take your banana."

"It was a horrid nightmare." He said, stretching out upon the duvet. His shirt rose above his slim hips and revealed tattoo after tattoo upon his soft, pale skin, "Absolutely terrifying." 

"I bet it was. But I have a worse one for you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Someone getting a photograph of you coming out of my room in the same clothes as last night."

"Walk of shame picture?" He said, sitting up slowly and leaning against the bed rest, he ran a hand through his hair and yawned, "Why do people call it that? I wouldn't be ashamed in the least to walk out of here."

"It means we slept together, people usually do the walk of shame after a one night stand."

"We did sleep together."

"Not literally Harry."

"Ohhhh." He said smilingly, "You mean sex."

"You know exactly what I meant."

"Yes, but it's nice to see that flushed face so early in the morning." He said, pinching her cheek lightly.

She rolled her eyes, "Look, you really need to get out of here."

"No one's probably even up yet."

"Julian's always up at eight."

"Then he's probably in his room, why would he come out?" He laid back down, "If you're so worried, go make sure the coast is clear, then I'll go back and check on Lou."

"You think anyone checked up on him last night?"

"Every man for himself when you have a hangover. Plus, Liam's brought Sophia over, I doubt either of them are going to leave their room anytime soon."

"And Paul? The guards?"

"Stop worrying, we're not going to get caught. I've gotten away with much, much worse." He kissed her cheek before getting up, "I'll be in the loo."

Reagan sighed as she got up and went to the door, checking out through the peephole first and then opening it when making sure the coast was clear. She looked outside her door, cautiously stepping out and looking more thoroughly both ways. When satisfied she stepped back in and saw that Harry was still in the bathroom, so she began sorting through her clothes since she had to pack anyway.

She didn't hear Harry coming out of the bathroom, so from across the room he watched as she began packing clothes he had never seen her wear. There were lacey, short, tight fitted materials in her hand. He smiled to himself as he walked over, "I would love to see you in that." He said, raising his eyebrow at the bralette she had in her hands. 

She fought through her embarrassment and tried to snarkily say, "Don't hold your breath." 

But Harry saw right through her attempt and laughed, hugging her from behind whilst she still had the flimsy material between her fingers. His breath was hot on her neck as he whispered into her ear, "I'm sure we can reach an agreement."

She shook her head, "No we won't."

"Oh, we will." He chuckled, kissing her neck and letting her go, "But right now, I guess I'll have to be going."

"Make sure the coast is clear before you open-"

"Hailey?" She heard Harry say before she could finish her sentence. She froze, her body was paralyzed. 

"Harry? You beat me to Reagan's room." Hailey laughed, pushing past him and coming into Reagan's room without missing a beat. "Rae, I just wanted to double check what time we were leaving today. Julian said he was going to try to fit me in after the boys finished their track."

"O-Oh." Reagan stuttered, throwing the bralette into her suitcase when she saw Hailey pointedly staring at it, "Our flight leaves at five."

"Smashing. Harry, were you leaving?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Walk me back to my room, yeah? We can talk about where we're going for our first date."

Reagan tried not to roll her eyes and instead went back to packing. 

"See you later, Rae." Harry said, going out the door after Hailey. 

Hailey waved him away, much too anxious from the fact that Hailey had to most certainly suspect something now. She just had to, there was no way she didn't. She wouldn't but that Harry had just come into her room right before her, would she?

—✴—

"I should be home, oh god...what are we nine hours ahead?" Reagan asked, while repacking her suitcase, "I don't know by tomorrow afternoon."

"Your boyfriend will probably drive you home anyway." Kennedy said with a chuckle, "Mom and dad went away for the weekend, some important deal dad had to make with some new singer or something." 

"So you're home alone?"

"I'm eighteen."

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking." 

"Reagan, they can't get me a babysitter. I'm a legal adult."

"Who makes poor decisions."

"I'm new at the adult thing." Kennedy said with a laugh, "But anyway, so are you two legit now? He's actually your boyfriend? God, I love it, Harry Styles is your boyfriend, Rae. You two are a thing. I mean you were, but now he's said it and AGHHH it's amazing. Imagine when you come out to the public-" Reagan smiled to herself, putting her phone on speaker and putting it on the bed so she could walk around the room freely, knowing that her sister was about to start one of her long monologues that would probably take about fifteen minutes, "-but who cares what other people think anyway. He loves you! You love him! Everything is fucking right in the world. You told him right? Did you tell him you loved him?"

Reagan sighed, "No."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO!? THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF GOING OVER THERE, WASN'T IT!?" Kennedy said so loudly, Reagan was convinced the whole floor heard her. "I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO CHICKEN OUT! I CALLED IT!"

"Kenz." Reagan warned.

"Did you at least fuck?"

"KENNEDY!"

"That's a no."

"This is so uncalled for." Reagan muttered, closing up her suitcase, "My love life is now off limits to you."

"Oh come on, Rae. I need to live vicariously through you. Plus who are you going to talk about Harry to? Mom?"

Reagan sighed. 

"Raeeeeeeeeeeeee"

"I'm going to tell him, just, when we go back home."

"Are you going to sleep with him?"

"Kenz, you're way too young to have this conversation with."

"I most certainly am not." Kennedy said, her incredulous tone sounding even more high pitched through the phone. "Just because I'm your baby sister does not mean I'm a baby. I'm eight-"

"Yes, Kenz. You're eighteen. I get it."

"But I'm also your sister. We should be able to talk about these things."

"I can't even think about these things, how do you want me to be able to talk about them?"

"Do you want to?"

"Have sex with Harry?"

"Well, yeah." Kennedy said, her tone screaming duh. 

"Well, uh, I mean."

"You do, you totally do. You're probably getting that weird shade of purple you usually do when you get all flustered beyond the point of no return."

Reagan looked across the room at her reflection in the mirror, and of course Kennedy was right, "Shut up."

"You're twenty two, Rae. You can have sex with him."

"It doesn't matter how old I am Kenz, I just..."

"Aren't ready?"

"It's not that, I just...I don't know If I'm...confident enough?"

"To show him your body?"

"Yeah."

"I think you're being silly. He's probably told you a thousand times over how hot you are, am I wrong? No right? But if you're not ready, then you don't have to do anything you don't want to. I think that before you take that step, you have to love yourself completely though, you know? Whose going to love you more than you?"

"Those are some pretty wise words, kid." Reagan said, processing what Kennedy just said. 

"Yeah well, I'm wise beyond my years."

"You still think your toys talk."

"HAVE YOU SEEN TOY STORY!?"

Reagan laughed, "You know, you and Liam would have a great conspiracy talk about this. You should bring it up to him one day."

"I intend to, since no one else believes me."

Reagan laughed loudly, "God, I missed you, Kenz."

"Then come home already."

"I'll text you when I get on the pl-"

She was about to finish when she head a loud knock at her door followed by Hailey's high pitched voice saying "Reagan!"

"Love you Kenz," Reagan said, quickly grabbing her phone and taking it off speaker, pressing it to her ear, "See you tomorrow."

"She's there isn't she? Hailey right? Don't let her walk all over you!"

"Bye, Kenz."

"Seriously, don't let that bi-" 

And with that Reagan hung up, smiling to herself, even though Hailey was on the other side of the door. 

Reagan opened the door finding a very stylish Hailey smiling up at her, "Reagan."

"Hailey, two visits in one day? I feel honored."

"Well, this room is quite popular."

"Excuse me?"

She threw a disc at her, "At least, that's what the security tape tells me."

"H-How did you?"

"Get the footage? Security guard's quite sweet on me, it was nothing really."

Reagan was shocked, her face pale as a the wall behind her, but she quickly figured out what this meant, "What do you want, Hailey."

Hailey smiled, "Let's have a seat and a chat, shall we?"


	78. Chapter 78

Hailey watched Reagan with her bright hazel eyes. She was silent, sitting regally in an extravagantly carved chair that was by Reagan's dresser. She breathed in lightly, relishing this moment far too much. Hailey believed that what she was doing was the right thing after all. People messing up the status quo just wouldn't do. Reagan was Reagan, chubby, plain old Reagan Bailey. And Harry was Harry, a popular, handsome celebrity. The two together simply would not do. It defied the laws of nature. 

Agonizing seconds felt like an eternity to Reagan whose stomach was churning with prickling anxiety. Her hands began sweating, her mind at a standstill. All she could think was 'Fucking shit.' This was it, she was sure of it. This was the end of her newly established career. 

"Oh, Reagan." Hailey said shaking her head and interrupting Reagan's train of thought, "You know, this whole situation is quite funny, isn't it?"

Reagan didn't want to quiver before Hailey. She wanted to be strong and to show she wasn't afraid of what she could possibly do, but who was she kidding? She was fucking terrified, and her uneven voice showed it, "How so?"

"Lydia brought me in to clear those rumors of you and Harry dating."

"So?"

She laughed, "Well now I'll really be worth the money won't I?"

"What?"

"Oh, don't play stupid, Reagan. We both know you and Harry are fucking, or whatever the hell you're doing." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder, "Are you screwing him?" 

Reagan blushed, determined not to give a look that would give Hailey any kind of satisfaction.

"You're not are you? I mean who are we kidding. You two probably stay up all night whispering sweet nothings to each other. What man is going to want to actually touch you?"

Reagan said nothing.

"Then again, if he happened to, it would mean nothing. You'd just be a quick lay. Maybe an escapade or a cheap thrill, but there is no way he would consider you a serious conquest. I mean look at you, there is nothing you have to offer, Reagan." She smiled, "We're friends right? We're supposed to tell each other the truth, aren't we?"

"You're an evil bitch." Reagan sputtered.

Hailey ignored her and continued, "Have you seen his exes? Heard of the girls who actually have slept with him? Reagan, none of them look like you. They look like me. You know why? He has a type, Rae. All boys do. They like pretty girl. Or, well, they like easy girls too I suppose." She said raising her flawlessly shaped brows.

"Are you calling me easy too now?"

Hailey shrugged, "I'm the only one who tells you how it is, Rae. That's what friends are what for. What good would it do for me to lie to you? To tell you that you have a chance with him? That you're beautiful on the inside and that's what matters? It's bullshit! You know it is! Harry isn't going to be seen with you in public, he isn't going to come out and tell the world that he loves someone like you."

"You don't know shit, Hailey." She said, her uneven voice making her sound less threatening.

"Don't tell me," Hailey said with a fake pout that infuriated Reagan more than anything, "Did he say he wanted to go public with you? He did, didn't he?" Hailey said, emphatically nodding, "Oh, Rae. You have so much to learn about boys. Don't you know that's just a tactic to get you trust him?"

"That's not true."

She smiled, "Honey, why did he agree to go out with me then? He's rebelled against his label and management for so long, why not now?"

Reagan knew better than to fall for Hailey's words, especially now, especially after everything she and Harry have been through. 

"Rae?"

"What?"

She grabbed Reagan's damp hand in her own, "I'm going to make it very easy for you."

"How's that?" Reagan said, relinquishing her hand and staring at Hailey head on.

"You're going to stop seeing him."

"Says who?"

Hailey let go of Reagan's hand and snatched the disc off the dresser, holding it up in front of Reagan's almost purple face "Says me."

"You bitch."

"Reagan, it's for the best. Now you get to focus on your career, and if you don't...well, you just won't have one anymore, will you? Think about it, what's more important? Your career? Or some boy who's going to end up breaking up with you in a few weeks when he's bored with you?"

"What do you think he's going to fall in love with you? Is this why you're doing this?"

"If it happens, it happens."

"You're more delusional than I thought you were."

She shrugged, "Good thing Harry doesn't see me that way then, isn't it?"

Reagan couldn't believe this was happening. She just couldn't get a grasp on the situation. Was this really her life? Was Hailey really real? She just couldn't believe that someone like her could possibly exist. How could a person be so incredibly twisted? How could they do so much harm so fucking easily?

"You won't get away with it." Reagan said in a low voice.

Hailey got up from her chair, and placed a slender hand upon Reagan's shoulder,"I know you, Rae. I know you care about your reputation, about your future. You wouldn't throw it away for him, would you?" 

Reagan's hands were in tight fists, she was resisting the urge to pick up a chair and slam it across Hailey's perfect fucking face, "Get out."

"I wasn't planning on overstaying my welcome, Rae. Don't worry. I'll see you on the plane. I'm sure you understand what agreement we've come to, right?"

"Get out!" She yelled..

Hailey laughed as she opened the door, "See you on the plane, bestie." 

She slammed the door as soon as Hailey stepped out and only made it two steps before grabbing a decorative pillow of one of the lounge chairs and releasing a scream into it. She felt impotent, a wave of nausea hitting her the moment she released all of her frustration on the poor pillow. There was nothing she could do. Harry saw nothing but sunshine and rainbows in Hailey. He would never believe that perfect Hailey came up with this plan. She played her part so incredibly well. 

Reagan crumpled onto the floor, her legs just completely giving out under her. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to throw all the pretty porcelain things her room was decorated with at the wall. But nothing would fix this, nothing. She was stuck between a rock and hard place, and fuck, she didn't know what she could possibly do. 

—✴—

Upon the plane Reagan found herself sitting between Louis and Sophia. Liam, passed out in his seat, was snoring loudly. Niall, once again, was making a fool out of himself as he played a round of scrabble with Harry and Hailey. They filled the plane with their banter, Niall saying, "That's not a fucking word!" and Harry retorting, "Just because you don't know the word doesn't mean it doesn't exist! Pick up a fucking book for once in your life!". Hailey just sat back and enjoyed the fact that for now she had won. Her leg rested firmly against Harry's, and her lips curled into a half smile as the two boys before her continued bickering. 

Reagan tried not to turn back and look at them. As they left the hotel she had attempted avoiding Harry, at least in front of Hailey. She just needed some time, she couldn't risk it all like that. She had to weigh the consequences, and she knew that she couldn't tell Harry. He just wouldn't believe her, he would think she was a jealous mess, and he would leave her for sure, wouldn't he? 

Reagan's brow furrowed as Sophia and Louis continued on chatting, the two of them obviously aware of the fact that something was wrong with her. 

"By the way, Soph." Louis said with a smirk upon his face, "Next time you have a room next to mine, have some decency and try not to make so much noise."

Sophia rolled her eyes, "We did not make that much noise."

"You woke up the entire fucking floor."

"Stop lying!"

"Mmmm Payno! Yes! God, yes, Liam!"

Sophia turned a deep shade of red, "Fuck off, twat."

Louis laughed loudly, sneaking a peek at Reagan only to see her face still looking contemplative and remote. 

"Okay." He said making eye contact with Reagan, "Out with it."

"With what?" She asked, feigning that everything was perfectly fine. 

He lowered his voice, "Reagan Bailey, you're going to tell me that you're not sitting with Harry by choice?"

"We don't always have to sit together."

Sophia furrowed her brow, "Did something happen? Is that why Harry was acting all wonky when you wouldn't let him take your suitcase?"

"You wouldn't let him take your suitcase?" Louis said, his face genuinely worried, "You know that's almost as bad as insulting his mother."

"And now you won't even make eye contact with him?" Sophia added, of course noticing that Reagan sat with her back to the trio a few seats behind them.

"Could you both please just back off, I've got a massive headache and you're just making it worse." Reagan said, rubbing her temples.

"It's just weird, considering you two have spent so much time together." Louis said as he shrugged.

Sophia nodded, "Very weird." 

Reagan simply faced the window, placed her earbuds in, and cocooned into herself. She couldn't wait to be home.


	79. Chapter 79

Something was off...again. Harry sighed as Hailey lightly snored next to him upon the plane. He wanted so badly to go over to Reagan and try to talk to her, but if earlier had been any indication she wasn't going to have it. He had simply asked if he could carry her suitcase, how was that a crime?

He didn't understand what possibly could've gone wrong. He wondered if it was perhaps because he proposed they come out to the public. It made him think that maybe once again he had gone way too fast for Reagan and he was just scaring her away. Maybe she did just need some time to process everything. He loved her, of that he was sure. And if he loved her, well he could let her sort things out before committing herself completely to him. He'd suck it up and understand. But it was just so fucking hard when all he wanted to do was be with her. What he wanted was the most simple thing in the world, and yet it was becoming the biggest challenge he'd ever faced. Harry didn't understand why it was so hard to be with Reagan, he simply didn't get it. If love conquered all, then how could it be that they were still going in the same perpetual back and forth?

"Harry?" He heard his name whispered loudly, and looked up to see Louis standing up beside his seat waving at him and pointing to the small bathroom.

Harry looked up, furrowing his brow he mouthed, "What?" But Louis just kept pointing to the bathroom, meaning that whatever he had to say was top secret and it needed to be said in a private space. Harry rolled his eyes and gently got up, making sure not to make any noise. The last thing he needed was to be caught in the loo with Lou. 

"What?" He said in a harsh whisper as he and Louis were face to face in the tiny confined space. 

Louis had a smirk upon his face, clearly enjoying the situation. He tried to back up against the wall next to the sink, but it still didn't allow for a lot of space between the pair. He looked at Harry, who was clearly already annoyed, and asked, "What's up with you and Reagan?"

Harry shrugged, "Don't know mate." Because he really didn't know. Having never been in a serious relationship, Harry was beginning to understand why people claimed love was so fucking confusing. 

"You think it has something to do with Hailey?"

"Why?"

"Didn't she start acting all weird after Hailey came to her room?"

Harry furrowed his brow, "You mean when Hailey caught us together in Rae's room?"

Louis' eyes widened, "She caught the pair of you together!? Are you bloody mad!?"

"She didn't think anything was going on." Harry said, clearly not understanding the gravity of what had happened.

"Harry, why would she not think something was going on? You were in Rae's room! And God knows how fucking obvious you are."

"Lou, she didn't suspect anything, I even walked her back to her room and we chatted. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Well, you do realize Hailey paid her a visit after that, right?"

"That's normal, Reagan's in charge of taking care of Hailey isn't she?"

"After what you just told me I'd read much more into that visit." Louis said, frustrated with Harry's lack of concern. "I mean, why else would Reagan be acting this way? Something had to have happened."

"You know, this isn't the first time Rae shuts me out. I'm okay, we're okay. She just needs her space."

"I thinks that's too generous of you, mate."

"What do you mean?"

"It's nice you want to give Reagan her space and everything, but really after the way you two have been acting these past two weeks, do you really think she's just going to shut you out for no reason?"

Harry stayed quiet, not sure how to respond. And as Louis was about to continue a loud knock at the door made them jump and collide into each other, "Yo, I need the toilet."

"One sec." Harry said, glaring at Louis.

Louis burst out laughing, knowing that there was no way they were getting out of there without the whole plane wondering why in the fuck the both of them were in the same bathroom. 

Harry hesitantly opened the door to find a sleepy Liam pushing past him into the bathroom. He looked up and blinked, realizing that Harry hadn't in fact been in there by himself. "Louis? What the fuck?"

Louis walked past him, placing a hand on his shoulder before exiting, "Joined the mile high club, mate."

Liam turned and looked at them blankly, "You did not!"

Louis smirked and shrugged and closed the door on a very flushed and confused Liam, erupting into a fit of laughs. Harry simply shook his head, hiding his own smile. He had more important things to worry about after all. 

—✴—

Upon getting home Reagan knew that the fact she arrived Harry-less was going to be a big point of conversation for Kennedy, but seeing as she arrived with Louis it seemed her younger sister was currently more preoccupied with a more pressing matter. 

"How was Europe? Reagan seemed to be having a lot of fun." Kennedy asked, trying to keep her cool but failing. Her smitten face just proved she totally wasn't over Louis.

"It was alright."

"He was a drunk a great deal of the time." Reagan said pointedly.

"That was one fucking day, get over it."

"Yeah, yeah."

Kennedy giggled, "It was nice of you to bring Reagan though, even though it's Harry's job...isn't it?"

Louis looked at Reagan and smirked, "It is. Yet...here I am. Funny how life is."

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the ride," She grabbed her suitcase and started rolling it towards the stairs, "See you tomorrow."

Both Kennedy and Louis looked as Reagan marched up the stairs, suitcase in hand, and Kennedy couldn't help but ask, "Why is she in a mood all of a sudden? Everything was going great, wasn't it?"

Louis shrugged, "I have no idea, but if you ask me it has something to do with Hailey."

Kennedy gasped, "Wait! Yeah, you're right! The last time I talked to Reagan I think Hailey was in her room."

Louis nodded, "She ended up being driven home by Harry, Reagan just let them go off together, didn't even bother trying to stop them. I have a really bad feeling about Hailey, I don't know why but I just can't shake it off."

"Same."

They stayed quiet for a moment before Louis wrapped an arm around Kennedy's shoulders and pressed his cheek to hers, "I have to get going, though. Take care of your sister."

"Yeah." She said, touching lightly where his stubble had brushed her cheek, "I'll text you if I get anything out of Reagan."

"Please do, God knows she's not going to talk to Harry." He said, walking towards the door.

"How are you though, you okay?" Kennedy asked, even though she knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer. Louis had stopped answering her texts as fervently ages ago, and even though she knew better than to hold it against him, she kind of did. Reagan of course was right, he was 23, he was a big pop star, he had a troubling reputation, but against all better judgement she fell for him. She cared about him. Yeah that was there before she actually knew him, and she knew that if ever she admitted it her feelings wouldn't be valid to anyone else because everyone still thought of her as a kid. It sucked, it really did. 

"I've been better." 

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Quite alright, love. Just having a rough time of it all, but hopefully that'll change soon."

She smiled, "I hope so."

"And," He added, looking at her head on with his piercing blue eyes, "I'm really sorry I haven't been answering you much. You know it's just been mad hectic and I kind of just fell of the face of the Earth to everyone I care about."

"You care about me?" Her heart almost stopped at the thought that Louis fucking Tomlinson actually cared about her.

He furrowed his brow, "Yeah?" Louis chuckled a bit, "Don't be daft Kennedy we're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"I'll see you then, keep in touch." He said as he finally stepped out the door, leaving a breathless Kennedy leaning against a wall. 

She sighed, far too smart to know that anything would come from falling for Louis. She turned towards the stairs and climbed them one by one, knowing far too well that right now she wasn't the priority anyway. The priority was finding out what exactly happened to Reagan and Harry, and how much of it was due to Hailey. 

Kennedy braced herself before opening to door to Reagan's room, knowing that she was going to have knock down the wall Reagan had most likely put up to avoid any invasive line of questioning. 

Reagan turned to look at her little sister, and from one brief glance knew that Kennedy was so not over Louis. It didn't matter how much she may have denied it, the flush in her cheeks and the way she held her hands tightly to her body were her tells. Reagan rolled her eyes, far too preoccupied with other things to even begin unpacking that mess. 

"So..." Kennedy started, grabbing a pile of clothes Reagan had already taken out of her suitcase and sorting through them, "What's up."

"Nothing."

"You're a terrible liar, you should know that by now."

"Shut up."

"Rae, come on. What happened? You sounded so happy before you got on the plane. Remember? You had spent the night with Harry? You were thinking about sleeping with him?" Reagan lost all of the color in her face and Kennedy had to press her lips together to suppress a laugh, "So you do remember, right?"

"Yes!" Reagan said, clearly already over the conversation.

"Then what the hell? Why did you let Harry take Hailey home!?"

"We're back in LA Kenz! They're supposedly dating! I can't be seen with him right now. Why is it such a big deal? I didn't say I broke up with him, did I?"

"No."

"Then quit it. It was a fucking long flight and I feel jet lagged."

"Did nothing really happen with Hailey?"

Reagan didn't answer, she just kept pulling clothes out of her suitcase. 

"Rae?"

"Just leave it alone, Kenz." She snapped, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Harry's fine. Everything is fine."

"It doesn't seem like it."

"Please," Reagan said taking a deep breath, "Just let me be for a little while. I love you and I know you want what's best for me, but right now you're acting worse than mom and I just can't handle it right now."

Although it went against her better judgement, Kennedy got up and walked towards the door, leaving Reagan alone to finish unpacking. But even though she wanted to be alone, all the voices in her head just kept screaming how no matter what she did she and Harry just weren't going to work. It was like the entire world was against them. But then she figured, quieting the voices, what's a love story without proving to the world they were wrong?

She wasn't going to give up without a fight, not this time. Hailey was not going to win. She just had to come up with a plan. A good, solid plan.


	80. Chapter 80

Luckily for everyone involved, the boys' next tour dates were all conveniently in or around LA. Naturally of course Reagan would have usually been excited, but considering the circumstances of their current situation, she was less than pleased. Harry noted this right away, seeing as Reagan's face fell as Lydia outlined their events for the week.

The time had finally come it seemed, he and Hailey were to go on their first date before the boys moved onto their next string of tour dates across the US. Lydia had made sure that there was just the right amount of mystery surrounding Harry and Hailey's relationship so that they would stay relevant for more than a couple of days. After all, it was a great promo not only for Hailey but for the band as well. A new girlfriend meant new material to write about. And to top it all off, it meant that everyone would forget about Reagan and Harry linked romantically. It was a win, win, win. Just the way Lydia liked it. 

After the weirdness that followed their return to the US, Reagan and Harry's relationship felt strained. He didn't know how to approach her about the fact, and she simply couldn't tell him what was the matter. As much as she wanted to be with him, she couldn't think of a way out of Hailey's manicured grasp. She had her, she had her pretty fucking good. Besides, there wasn't much Reagan could do right before Harry and Hailey went public. She just had to suck it up and put on a brave face. There was much more at stake than just her and Harry, there was also the whole Louis thing. If they played their cards right, then maybe everyone could have a happy ending. But that meant keeping calm and acting rationally. 

"So, I've book a summer concert with Good Morning America." Lydia said as they all sat in the conference room at the label. She had droned on about sales and ads, but finally she gotten the boys' attention seeing as they were all looking attentively at her, "You've been invited not only for the summer, but also for their 40th anniversary celebration in November. I assume you will be ready to promote a single by August? Have you chosen one yet?"

The boys all smiled at each other while Louis answered confidently, "We've got one in mind, yeah."

"Make sure it's ready by then. I imagine Julian will have a finished version up and ready by the end of the month."

Julian nodded, not even looking up. Unlike the boys, he could care less. He was still too wrapped up in finishing the album. The first track was already ready though, Reagan had heard them excitedly abuzz about it earlier that morning. Something about it being the perfect single after Zayn had left. Louis especially was proud of it. But of course it was all hush hush, the boys wanting it to be a surprise to everyone, especially Reagan.

"Harry," Lydia said as she turned to look at him, "I think that when you confirm your relationship with Hailey, you should do it on that day, you know? It would be a great way to get the performance and single trending on Twitter."

Harry looked so pained at the idea. He ran his hand through his long hair, pushing the wavy strands back in frustration. But he nodded nonetheless, "Yeah, sure."

"Even though we can't promote the album yet, you can promote the single and the tour. And of course, Harry's relationship with Hailey will help all of this become relevant. Not that you aren't of course," Lydia quickly said as she gauged the boys' facial expressions, "But we all know how much your romantic lives come into play."

"So you're basically making us do an interview just to show the world Harry's in a relationship?" Louis asked, clearly appalled, "I thought this was about the single."

"It's good promo. We take all the promo we can get."

Reagan did not like the look on Louis' face at all, she had known him long enough to know that when he made that face it meant trouble.

"Let it go, Tommo." Liam said from across the polished, wooden table. 

Louis rolled his eyes and got up, "I assume we're done here?"

Lydia nodded, "Get back to work. I'll be in my office if anyone needs anything."

As everyone began to leave the room, Reagan of course stayed behind to tidy up. She wearily watched as Harry didn't move an inch, in fact he simply sat back in his seat and watched her with his inquisitive eyes.

"What, Harry?"

He shrugged, "You tell me."

She sighed, shuffling through folders Lydia had left behind for her, "Not the time."

"What do you mean not the time?"

"I mean, we're at work. This is not the time to be discussing this."

"So you'd discuss it with me outside of work?"

"Harry, please."

"Reagan, I don't want this to end up like last time, okay? Remember? Weeks without speaking to each other?"

"We're talking now, aren't we?"

He frowned, "Is this because of the whole Hailey thing?"

"Kind of."

He tried to hold back his smile figuring that it had to be because she was jealous. And if that was the case, then he could live with that. After all, he wasn't interested in Hailey in that way. But watching Reagan get all flustered and frustrated was endearing. "Kind of?" He repeated.

"Look, I just don't want people to suspect anything, okay? We were in Europe, far away from Lydia and management. You know how I...how I feel about you." Reagan admitted, immediately turning a deep shade of red, "But we're here now, under a fucking magnifying glass, and I'd rather not push it. Besides, if you want to help Louis with, well you know, um...with his situation, then I would just cool it and do whatever Lydia or Hailey says."

"You want me to do whatever Hailey says?"

Oh God, Reagan never thought she'd say those words, but she knew that if she ever wanted a future with Harry she was going to have to play along for now, "Yeah. I do."

"So..." Harry said getting up from his seat and coming closer, "What if she tells me..." 

"What?" She asked, putting the colorful folders in her hands down upon the table.

He smirked, coming up so close to her that she could smell his minty gum and floral shampoo. She wanted to pull away, fuck she had to pull away. But even though she took a step back, he took a step forward and cornered her. She was getting far too used to this situation.

"What if she tells me I have to kiss her? Would you advise me to do that?" He asked, his breath warm upon her ear as he leaned down to ask her. The tips of his hair gently brushed upon her collarbone and it made her shudder."Well, Rae? Do I have to kiss her?" He tilted her chin towards him, "Like this?" For a moment, something within Reagan told her that he wasn't going to do it. That he had better sense than to kiss in her in the conference room that was right next to Lydia's office.,But before she could think about it further, he yanked her to him and covered her mouth with his in a hungry kiss. She responded immediately, having missed him so much in the past week. His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips softer than she had remembered He tasted forcibly with his tongue, and Reagan opened her mouth with a low moan that made Harry hold her tighter to him. It was one of the most passionate kisses Reagan had ever experienced, and they had kissed a great deal in the past few weeks. Their breath was becoming heavy, rapid, almost as if they were going to run out of oxygen. But before either of them lost all of their senses, Harry pulled back and looked at Reagan with a very, very smug look. "So?" He asked, taking a step back even though he clearly would have rather continued, "Are you sure you want me to do everything Hailey asks?"

Reagan cleared her throat, regathered her folders, and avoided making eye contact, "No." She said in a clearly strained voice as she attempted to compose herself.

"Damn straight." He muttered, as he fixed his shirt and walked towards the door. 

"But." She added.

"But?"

"You're going to have to try your best to do almost everything she asks, okay?"

He nodded, "I know."

"And we can't...we can't be together for a while. You know that right?"

"But why? Why can't we just sneak around like before, isn't that the fun part?" He said, grinning mischievously. 

And she would, she would love to sneak around with him like before. Well, not love, she hated the pit of anxiety that bubbled in her stomach in fear of Lydia, but she would totally be open to continuing on the relationship as before it hadn't been for Hailey. 

"It's too risky right now," She said, which was totally true. Even if it hadn't been for Hailey, she probably wouldn't have been seen outside of work with him, "We can't be seen together if you're being linked to Hailey."

"I get it."

"You say that now, but I'm serious. For now, it's over. We're nothing."

"Are you breaking up with me?" He asked in an incredulous tone.

She smirked, "Aren't you dating another girl?"

He chuckled, "You think you're so funny, don't you."

"And you're living up to your womanizer persona."

"Hey now, watch it."

"I'm serious." She said, looking at him head on. "Until this whole stunt is over, we're done. Don't even look at me for more than a second."

He groaned, "Reagan, aren't you being a little too paranoid."

Absolutely not. This way, Reagan could fool Hailey into believing that she and Harry were actually over until she figured out a way to pry those dvds out of her hands, "Nope. I'll see you later Mr. Styles." She replied, picking up her things and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"That's so not fair. All that did was turn me on."

She ignored him, "If you need anything else Mr. Styles-"

"For you to stop being a bloody tease." He muttered.

She rolled her eyes, "I'll be at my desk."

"I'll play along." He said, before she walked out, "Just don't get mad if my performance looks too realistic."

Reagan waved him off, turned her back to him and walked out the door, "Have a good day, Mr. Styles."


	81. Chapter 81

"So I'm going to assume I get front row seats for tomorrow night," Kennedy said as she sat across from Reagan. They were eating dinner together, their parents having left for some fancy event at their father's label. 

Reagan smirked, "Is that all I'm worth to you? Front row tickets?"

"No..." Kennedy said, taking a bite of her pizza, "VIP access too."

"Get out of here," Reagan said, throwing a balled-up paper napkin at her little sister. 

Kennedy laughed, "No, but really, Rae. You're going to hook me up, right?"

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Yeah. The boys made sure you'd get tickets."

"Really!? Whose idea was it?" She asked, clearly wanting it to have been Louis'.

"Harry's, who else's?"

A little letdown, Kennedy still joked, "Huh. Well, I imagine he does want to be on my good side."

"Shut up."

The boys' first concert for the US leg was tomorrow night, and of course after such a hectic week, Reagan felt a bit more at ease to finally be home, even if it was with Kennedy. Still though, after a week of minimal contact with Harry, she felt frustrated. Yeah, it was what she wanted, but then again it so wasn't.

"So..." Kennedy said, taking a sip from her can of soda, "How are things with the supreme bitch?"

Reagan shuddered slightly. She had been blessed to not have to deal with Hailey for the past few says since she was in the studio "working hard", but she had been a nightmare since they had come back from Norway. She would constantly prod at Reagan, making subtle jabs at her that no one else would really understand. And perhaps most frustratingly of all, she was about to go on her first date with Harry, so of course she wouldn't shut up about it, especially around Reagan. So what could Reagan do? Nothing. She just pretended as if she could care less, and continued doing her job. 

"Fine."

"Doesn't seem fine."

Reagan grimaced, "Have you been gossiping with Louis again?"

Kennedy shrugged, "Well, since you won't talk to me I have to."

"And what has Louis been saying?"

"That something is very off between you and Harry."

"We're fine."

"You're not even acknowledging each other, how is that fine?"

"I've got it figured out, Kenz."

"No you don't, Rae. He may say he'll wait for you forever, but what if he doesn't? What if he falls for someone else while you're too afraid to admit what you're feeling to yourself."

"Kennedy, stay out of it."

"Rae, it's stupid to think that he's going to wait for you forever. Eventually he's going to get sick of playing this stupid game. God, I'm already sick of it! Just tell him you fucking love him!"

"It's not that easy!" Reagan said defensively.

"Maybe you're just the one making it hard."

Reagan got up from her seat, picking up her plate and placing it in the sink, "I'm going to bed."

"What you're going to run away from me too?"

"I'm not running away, Kenz."

"It's only eight."

"I'm tired."

"Bullshit." Kennedy called, "You're running away from your feelings."

Reagan turned to look at her sharply, "I'm not running away from anything."

"Then what are you doing, Rae? Are you just gonna keep letting that Hailey girl win?"

"Goodnight, Kenz." She said, slowly going up the steps to her room.

"Hey! Come on, we were having a serious conversation!"

"No we weren't." Reagan replied, before climbing the last step and turning the corner to go to her room.

"Well...I was." Kennedy mumbled, looking at her empty plate as she heard Reagan close her door. She knew something was up, she didn't need Louis to tell her so. But getting it out of Reagan? That would be a challenge in and of itself. 

—✴—

It was supposed to go down like this. Kennedy was going to go to boys' concert, she was going to have the time of her life, and more importantly she was going to be out of Reagan's hair for at least a night. But did that happen? Of course not. Reagan cursed herself for actually believing that things would run that smoothly at least once in her life. 

"Kennedy, you are not wearing that." Reagan said, looking at her little sister in a crop top and teeny tiny shorts. It was of course the standard outfit of choice Reagan had seen at the boys' concert, but that didn't mean Kennedy should be wearing it as well, "How did mom even let you out of the house in that?"

"I was wearing pants."

"Oh my god." Reagan said with a sigh.

"Why is it such a big deal? It's a concert." Kennedy asked, looking down at her outfit as if there was a stain on it, not a lack of it.

"A family concert."

"Really? With Niall thrusting at every verse and Louis swearing like a sailor?"

Reagan sighed, "Why can't you just give me one day of peace. Just one?"

Kennedy shrugged and looked around the empty arena, "You look so official, Rae."

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Well yeah, I'm not here for the concert."

"But seriously, you look like...like you own the place. I don't know, I love it." She said, admiring Reagan's outfit. 

Reagan, like always, was pretty worried about what she should wear that particular day, but now there was the added stress of it being the first concert in which she was expected to do a lot more than just stand in the crowd. So she wore her tightest jeans and a slightly sheer flowy top, and put on her highest wedges. Even she had to admit she looked good. The added bonus of the walkie talkie, laminated all-access pass, and clipboard just added extra cool points. She was totally on point. And Kennedy could tell by the newly present confidence in Reagan's step.

"Why did they give you a walkie talkie?" Kennedy asked, looking at the clipped device on Reagan's hip.

She shrugged, "They wanted us all to be a call away."

"Isn't that what cell phones are for?"

"Shitty service." Reagan said, crossing things off of a piece of paper on her clipboard.

"This is pretty fucking cool though." Kennedy said, twirling her all-access pass around her fingers, "I didn't know the boys were always here this early."

"Sometimes they stay overnight. They like sleeping in the arenas more than getting a hotel."

"Weirdos." Kennedy said, a smirk playing upon her face.

"Hey now." Louis said, sneaking up behind Kennedy, "There's better security here. We're locked in, they're locked out." 

"You don't get claustrophobic being locked in here all night?" Kennedy asked, just for the hell of being able to look at Louis head on. His hair was perfectly tousled and he was wearing an Adidas shirt and skinny jeans, typical Louis fashion. 

He shook his head, "Don't be ridiculous. These places are huge. Besides, the tour bus is the best place to record." He intently looked at Kennedy up and down for the first time, fully aware now of her sun kissed skin and ridiculously long legs , "Wow." He uttered, running a hand through his hair, "You look great."

Reagan grunted and pointedly asked, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yeah, the same place as you." He said, trying to compose himself. He pointed towards the stage, "Dressing room A, remember?"

Reagan checked her walkie talkie, "I didn't get any message."

"Didn't send it through the walkie, love." Louis said, taking it out of her grasp, "It's a more exclusive meeting."

Kennedy looked at both of them, knowing she couldn't join and waved, "I'll be around."

"Don't get into any trouble." Reagan said with the most authority she could muster in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah." Kennedy said, waving her off, "I'm going to get lunch."

"Go to Sarah!" Louis called, "Best fucking grilled cheese you'll ever eat in your life. Take advantage of that all-access pass." He winked.

"I intend to." Kennedy called back.

"And put some pants on!" Reagan said, just to spite her younger sister, whose cheeks reddened and eyes gave Reagan a death stare.

"Why does she have to put pants on? She looks fine to me." Louis said with a very smug look. 

"Alright, enough already, dad." Reagan said pushing him towards the backstage area. 

"Shhh, don't say that so loudly!" He said, looking around and making sure no one had heard Reagan 

"Then don't fucking leer at my little sister!"

"I wasn't leering, I'm not a bloody pervert! I gave her a compliment!"

"Yeah, okay." Reagan said, clearly not believing him.

"Look, I know you're not very pleased with me-"

"That's putting it lightly."

"But come on, Rae. You should know better. I wouldn't mess with Kennedy."

"Whatever." She said, walking towards the door to dressing room A, only to see Louis wasn't following. She sighed, "Come on, we're probably the last ones."

"Only if you say you forgive me."

"For what?"

"Everything that happened in Europe. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but you have to understand...no one knows. Only Harry and Briana."

"I get it. I'm more mad about the fact you keep talking about me with Kennedy."

"Really?"

"Yes." She said pointedly.

"Well, you have to admit, you and Harry have been acting rather strangely since we've gotten back."

"Not the time." She said pointing towards the door, "We can talk about this later."

He nodded, "Okay. As long as you're not mad."

"Why do you care if I'm mad?"

"We're friends? What is it with you and your sister? Why do I have to keep pointing this out to the pair of you? Do you two not have friends?"

She rolled her eyes, but her smile got the better of her. Louis noted it and knew he had slightly cracked the tough exterior she had been putting on. 

But that moment was quickly interrupted by Niall coming out of the door and nearly slamming into Reagan, "The fuck!?" He uttered, clearly taken aback.

"Sorry." She murmured, trying not to laugh.

"God, I was going to go look for you two." He said, his hand upon his chest, "Come on then, we've got business to talk about."

"What business?" Reagan asked as she stepped into the room. She observed that there was only Liam and Harry in the room, no management. She immediately knew something was wrong.

"Hey, Rae." Liam said, nodding toward her. His mouth was in a straight line though.

Harry also nodded toward her, making her mutter, "Hello, Mr. Styles."

"Ms. Bailey." He said, absent-mindedly twirling various rings on his fingers.

Niall, who took a seat beside Harry on the arm of the sofa, made a face, "What in the hell. Are you two role playing?"

Reagan turned to look at him, "What?"

"You know like...naughty secretary tries to get a promotion from her millionaire boss?" Niall tried, "Like porn with a plot, that's how they all start." He smirked, turning towards Harry "Mr. Styles, I have the quarterly reports for you." Niall said in a seductive voice almost two octaves higher than his usual tone of voice. 

Harry responded by shoving him off the arm of the sofa.

"Fuck." Niall said, getting up off the floor and brushing off his pants.

"God." Reagan muttered, wishing the earth would swallow her whole.

But Niall continued regardless, "Since when are you two so fucking formal anyway? We almost didn't get onstage in Oslo because we couldn't get you two off of each other. We literally had to pry Harry off of you."

"That's not true!"

"Yeah it is!"

"Guys!" Liam intervened, "We have something more important to talk about than Harry and Reagan sucking face."

Reagan groaned, "Are we ever going to let it go?"

"Oh my god, Payno. Just fucking get on with it." Louis said, tumbling onto the couch next to Harry.

Liam hesitated, knowing he wouldn't like Louis' reaction. But he said it anyway, "Zayn just got a solo deal. He's signing with RCA next week."

"What?" Louis said, almost too quietly.

Liam calmly nodded, "He's really going solo, mate. It's a done deal."


	82. Chapter 82

"I'm sorry...what?" Louis asked, his voice a notch higher and his face quickly turning a shade of red bordering on purple. Everyone turned to look at him, worried looks upon their faces.

"Louis, mate. I'm sorry." Liam said, "I know that it's-"

He disregarded Liam though, quickly getting up and storming out. Everyone stared after him blankly, not quite sure what to do. Only Harry yelled, "Lou, wait!" he got up and stumbled after him. 

Louis didn't wait though, he took quick steps towards another closed-off area of the arena, trying to get away from Harry. But Harry with his abnormally long legs caught up with him in no time. 

"Louis, I said wait!"

Louis turned to look at him sharply, "I don't want to talk about it!"

"I know. But we have to."

"Why!?"

"Because! I don't know! Isn't not talking about things what made all of this happen?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Harry looked away from Louis, "Why Zayn left. It's because we didn't talk, ever. You know? None of us talked to each other, or ran after each other when things got bad."

"Is that why you ran after me?"

"Yeah, mate. I don't want to lose you too."

Louis looked at him a bit ajar, but quickly composed himself and made a snarky remark, "Harry, that is so gay." Of course he appreciated his friend's concern. Had it been a year ago, he knew he would've stormed off and probably would not have come back until they had to go on stage. Had it been a year ago Harry nor Liam nor Niall would've cared that he ran out. Had it been a year ago it would be Zayn and him getting high in the tour bus just to forget the world around them. But this was now, and as he looked at Harry's furrowed brow and worried eyes, he knew that everything had changed between the lot of them. Zayn's departure had made them band together now more than ever. But he would never let anyone know that, fuck no. He wasn't about to let Harry or any of the boys know how much he actually did love them. That was incredibly foreign to him, and he wanted not part in it. 

Harry shrugged, "It is what it is. We already lost Zayn, I don't want any of us to feel like we have to run away to solve things."

"Fine." Louis huffed, "Look, I just..." He leaned against the concrete wall and slid down to sit upon the cold floor. Harry did as well, sitting cross legged and upright to look directly at Louis. 

"You just?"

"When he left..."

"Yeah?"

He didn't want to admit it. Admitting that it hurt Louis that badly made him feel weak and impotent. It made him feel like shit. But he said it anyway, "God, I just can't believe he fucking left that way."

"Didn't you guys fight the night before?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think he'd actually leave. You know Zayn! He would pack his bags and make a big fucking deal out of everything, saying he was leaving in the morning, but he never did. He never fucking left, he would still be there in the morning. But he wasn't."

Harry shook his head, remembering how it played out. They woke up at six in the morning to loud thuds, only to find Louis violently punching his wall, and a slip of paper beside him on the floor that said I had to do it this time. I hope you'll understand one day.

Harry hadn't been very close with Louis that past year. Louis had changed, he and Zayn had enclosed themselves in their own world, both spitefully observing the lives they now had to live. Harry didn't get it, and he hated that he didn't. He couldn't get through to them, and since that day he had been convinced that if they had all tried a little harder, that Zayn wouldn't have felt as if he had to leave to be happy. But it had happened, and Harry was of the belief that they had to learn from it. 

"This is fucking mad." Louis said shaking his head, "Didn't he want to be a normal 22 year old? Isn't that what all his statements said!?"

"You know he's always loved singing." Harry said, trying to calm him down.

Obviously it didn't work. In fact, the statement just made Louis even angrier, "Yeah, but it hasn't even been a fucking year! How did he even get out of the contract with Syco!? Of course fucking Simon gave him whatever he wanted. What's stopping me from leaving then if the contract isn't worth shit? Fuck management, fuck Syco, fuck Simon Cowell, and fuck Zayn! I'm so sick of this!"

"Louis-"

"No! You know I'm right! We all have the fucking talent and potential to go solo, but we don't desert the band to do it."

"Because we're in it together."

Louis grimaced at the sentimental statement, but relented, "Yeah, Haz. Because we're in it together."

Harry smiled, "See is it so hard to be nice?"

"Almost as hard as quitting my smokes."

Harry got up and offered Louis a hand, pulling him up with one motion, "So what are we gonna do?"

"When does he sign with RCA?" Louis asked, brushing his skinny jeans off.

"Next week."

Louis smiled smugly, "Then we're gonna drop the single the same day."

—✴—

Reagan sighed loudly, rubbing her temples and leaning back on her chair, "What are we going to do?"

Niall shrugged, "What can we do? It's his life."

"Yeah, but isn't this bad PR?"

Liam nodded, "Of course it is, so much for that whole 'we're still friends even though he left' act."

"Well, you guys weren't pulling it off anyway."

"What?" Niall said, "Really? I thought we were doing good."

"That last interview the both of you did. It was pretty unconvincing. Plus, Louis' face completely changes whenever you even mention Zayn." Reagan looked at Liam, "How did you even find out about him signing with another label?"

He sheepishly looked at Reagan, "I overheard Lydia this morning talking on the phone."

"Liam Payne." She said with a smirk, "I never would have pegged you for the type."

"Well, you know I don't gossip. But if this is something that's going down, I thought it would be better for all of us to sort it out together, without management."

"Yeah, they've done enough already." Niall muttered.

"You think Lou will be okay?" Reagan asked.

Liam nodded, "He's probably planning his revenge."

"But what if it isn't even true?"

"Oh, it's true." Liam said, nodding his head.

"How can you be so sure? I mean, maybe you heard wrong."

"Reagan, you know me. I wouldn't just say this to Louis without thinking about all of the repercussions. I know what I've heard."

Reagan sighed, "Guess I was just hoping for better news."

"Aren't we all? But, fuck..." Liam said shaking his head, "We can't just let him do this, can we? Like I know Louis and him were best mates, but we all were close. And if even I'm feeling bloody mad, imagine Lou."

"It's going to be bad, huh?"

"Well, I can't blame him. He and Zayn were the closest of us all."

"Major betrayal." Niall said, interjecting himself in the in the conversation. 

"I can imagine." Reagan said. "But-"

She was about to continue speaking when the door opened once more and in came Louis and Harry. She looked up at Louis worriedly, "You okay?"

He nodded, "I'm just peachy, Reagan." He said, plopping down and sitting next to her, "Just great."

"Enough with the sarcasm." Harry said, meeting his stare firmly.

"Yeah, yeah."

Liam crossed his legs and leaned over in his seat, looking directly at Louis "You think we should do something about this?"

"I think I have a plan." Louis said smugly, "It's on now. For sure."


	83. Chapter 83

Whilst Reagan surprisingly agreed with Louis and tried to help comprise a plan of action in dressing room A, Kennedy found herself eating the best-grilled cheese sandwich she had ever eaten in Sarah's pop-up kitchen backstage. 

"This is amazing." Kennedy embarrassingly said for maybe the fourth time in less than ten minutes.

"Thank you." Sarah said, suppressing a laugh and washing dishes, "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a hell of a time with the other girl this morning."

"What girl?"

"Harry's new girl, the Australian one."

"Gross." Kennedy grimaced, She's not Harry's girl."

"She sure thinks she is." Sarah replied, drying off a plate and putting it back in its rightful place. 

"Do you know where she went?" Kennedy asked, wiping the corners of her mouth with a paper napkin. 

Sarah shook her head, walking over to clear Kennedy's plate and glass of water, "I have no idea. I think she said she was going for a jog. Kept saying I wasn't providing the crew with enough "healthy" meals. Why?"

"No reason. Thanks for the lunch, it was amazing."

Sarah smiled, "No problem."

Kennedy got up from her seat, pushed it in, and gave one last wave to Sarah before rounding the corner and leaving the backstage area. She had promised Reagan she wouldn't get in any trouble, but really, would it be that bad if she tried to talk to Hailey? She probably wouldn't even know who she was anyway. 

While she was debating looking for Hailey, Kennedy wandered the stadium. She had been there before, some football game her dad had gotten tickets too. He had dragged her and Reagan along just so that Reagan could make some connections in the music industry, but she had been left to her own devices most of the time. Like now. And Reagan wonders why Kennedy gets into so much trouble.

Kennedy looked out towards the workers putting together the stage, wondering if they could assemble it so quickly because they'd already done it hundreds of times by now. She was so lost in thought watching the boys' stage come together that she didn't hear any of her surroundings until a high pitched voice exclaimed "I love your top!" and brought her back to reality.

Kennedy turned around in surprise, "What?"

Hailey smiled, wiped her brow in one motion and took a swig from her water bottle, "That top you have on. I have one just like it. I love it."

"Oh, thanks." Kennedy said. And then it clicked. She was talking to Hailey. If she wanted to help Reagan, there was only one thing she could do at this point, "Wait-" She said looking at Hailey head on for the first time, "Oh my god! You're Hailey Stone!"

Hailey smirked, obviously pleased with the fact that it looked as if Kennedy was going to pass out, "Yeah. I am."

"Oh my god! I can't believe it! I love your song "Love Me One More Time"! Oh god! I can't believe it's you!" Kennedy was getting nauseous from how overly dramatic she was being. But Hailey was obviously enjoying every second of it. Kennedy was a damn good actress.

"You've heard it?"

"Of course I have! Everyone has! You're like, huge here."

"What, really?"

Kennedy nodded, "God, yeah. Wait, are you like...dating Harry Styles?"

Hailey blushed, but kept her smug face in tact, "I can't say."

"Oh, come on. Really?"

"Sorry."

"Then...what are you doing here? Sorry to ask, I know it's kind of rude. But if you're not dating Harry then why are you...you know...here?"

Hailey brushed off Kennedy's question coolly and asked, "How do you know the boys?"

Kennedy had to play it cool, she knew that if she said she was Reagan's sister Hailey wouldn't trust her. But then again, if she lied it would totally blow up in her face like it has in every single movie she's ever seen. So she trusted her initial instinct and said, "My sister is the PR intern here, Reagan Bailey?"

"You're Reagan's sister? You two don't even look like you're related."

Oh, Kennedy did not like her tone one bit, but she ignored her comment, knowing that if she didn't she'd completely lose it on Hailey, "I'm so mad she didn't tell me you were going to be here! I would've brought something for you to sign for me."

"We could take a selfie if you want, but let's do it later after I change."

"Really?"

Hailey smiled a sweet, sweet smile and nodded, "Anything for a fan. We can meet up before the boys do sound check. Come by my dressing room, I'm in C."

"Yes! Of course!"

"Let's say in like...an hour? I have a session with Julian, have to lay down a track."

"Perfect!" Kennedy replied. "I can't wait." 

—✴—

"I don't care how good the song is, I can't promote it or do anything with it until I hear it." Reagan argued for maybe the fiftieth time. The boys were beginning to get on her nerves with their secrecy, and clearly they didn't understand that she wasn't a magician, she was just a PR person...and an intern at that.

"No." Louis said, "No way. Last time we let someone on the team listen to the album it was leaked."

"How could I possibly-"

"She said the exact same thing." Niall said eyeing Reagan suspiciously, "And yet the bitch managed to leak the entire thing."

"Language." Liam reminded him.

"Whatever." Niall retorted, "I meant what I said. We work so fucking hard to release these albums and every fucking year someone leaks them. And then we have to put on a show pretending that we have no idea people have heard the album. But we know, Reagan. We know."

"I get it." She said pointedly, "But I can't help you if I don't even know the name of the song. You understand that right?"

"We just can't risk it." Louis said, shaking his head, "Can't we pull a Beyonce and just drop the single without anyone suspecting a thing?"

"Out of nowhere?" Reagan asked, clearly surprised.

"That's genius!" Niall exclaimed, "Fans would be shitting themselves wouldn't they? Could you imagine, they're half asleep and out of nowhere, BAM! New single!" Niall laughed loudly, "It's perfect."

"So you're saying you don't need me?"

"No, love." Louis said, patting Reagan on the back, "We do, just not until after we drop it. We're going to need full promo the moment it goes live."

"No countdown, no sneak peak, no kind of hint to help boost sales? Are you insane?"

Louis shook his head, "Believe in the fans Rae, it's all we have after all."

Reagan felt uneasy with the idea though, Beyonce was Beyonce...the boys were kind of just shooting in the dark here, "But this is your first single since Zayn left. Don't you think we should just think about this maybe a tad bit more? What about your cover art? When are we possibly going to have a photo shoot for that? Is Julian even going to be able to finish editing it by then? And what about-"

"Rae, come on." Louis said, "A little trust would be nice."

She looked at Harry for the first time, willing him to be the sensible one in all of this and to say something to sway Louis from his plan. But all he said was, "You know, we should do the cover like we did for Four, don't you think? I mean, why do something all fancy. We're on tour, it was written on a tour bus, just do it there."

"That's the spirit, Haz." Louis said high fiving him.

Reagan sighed, "Lydia is not going to like this."

"That's why we're not telling her."

"What!?"

"Actually, you know what. This works out in your favor, Rae. If there's no PR involved, then technically you had no idea that we were doing this."

"Louis." She groaned, "How are you possibly planning to drop a single without Lydia knowing. That's not even possible."

"Anything is possible."

"How are you going to schedule the photo shoot?"

"We do have connections. I'm sure we can do it without tipping Lydia off."

"And what about Julian?"

"What about Julian?" Niall scoffed, "You really think he would say something?"

"He wouldn't." Liam said, shaking his head, "Can't stand Lydia."

Just by the fact that Liam actually seemed to be for this plan, Reagan knew she didn't stand a chance on getting through to them. She had to let it go, because after all it was something she'd never understand no matter how hard she tried. They had to do this together, alone, to prove that they were unshakable. To prove they were unstopable. And maybe above all, just to prove that they didn't need Zayn. 

"Okay." Reagan said hesitantly, "Do it."

"Yeah?" Louis asked, a tad taken aback. 

Reagan nodded, "Show them how it's done, boys."


	84. Chapter 84

With only a few minutes remaining until the boys were to begin their concert, Reagan was frantically searching for Hailey. Her responsibility, of course, was to make sure that Hailey was front and center that night in the crowd, and that she was photographed and plastered overall social media. But how could she possibly do that if she couldn't even find her?

She looked at her watched and sighed loudly. In a fit of desperation, she ran to Hailey's dressing room, even though she should have already been ready. To her relief, and then surprise she found not only Hailey but her sister as well.

"Reagan." Hailey said with a smug smile, "How nice of you to join us."

Reagan still stood there at the door, her hand gripping the handle, "Kennedy?"

Kennedy smiled wearily, she knew Reagan was going to be pissed, "Hey, Rae."

Hailey, sensing Reagan's discomfort, wrapped her slender arm around Kennedy's shoulders and smiled widely, "Your sister is a complete and total delight, Reagan. Why didn't you ever mention you had a sister?"

"You never asked."

Hailey laughed loudly, almost too forcefully, "Kennedy, your sister is so secretive."

Kennedy joined in as well but refrained from saying anything about the matter.

Before Reagan could even start freaking out about this new development though, she figured that the best course of action would be to ignore this blossoming friendship for now. Mostly because Hailey had to be out in her seat in about four minutes.

"Hailey?" Reagan asked.

"Yes?"

"Have you looked at the time?"

Hailey dramatically lifted her wrist and looked at her large gold wristwatch, "Oh, oops. Time must've gotten away from me."

"Hmm. I'm sure." Reagan said, an irritated look growing upon her face by the second.

Hailey got up, fluffed up her hair, smoothed out her skirt, and smirked at Reagan, "Come on then, we'll be late, won't we?" And with that Hailey strutted out of the room, heels clacking on the hard, cold concrete. 

Kennedy attempted to walk past Reagan without getting an earful, but was unsuccessful. Reagan stopped her in her tracks before her hand even touched the handle of the door, "Kenz, quit it."

"Quit what?"

"I know what you're doing." Reagan said, knowing better than to believe Kennedy genuinely liked Hailey. No one genuinely liked Hailey, except unfortunately Harry, "I'm going to fix this myself."

"Fix what? You won't even tell me what she did!?"

"I can't have people fighting my battles for me anymore, Kennedy!"

"I'm not trying to fight it for you!" Kennedy argued, "I want to help you win!" 

Reagan turned to walk out the door, "Kennedy, I'm not going to tell you this again. I need to do this on my own, just stay out of it."

"But-"

Reagan turned to look at her younger sister, "But nothing. Now get out, the boys are going on stage in like two minutes."

"You're being unreason-" But before she could even finish Reagan had already walked out and slammed the door. She wasn't going to make it easy to help her, not by a long shot. 

—✴—

By about noon the next day, as the boys were off to a top secret photoshoot, Reagan found herself glued to her computer screen. The top trending topic on Twitter was "Harry's Summer Girlfriend", and of course it was all her doing. Picture after picture on her screen was of Hailey, front row, with Harry quite obviously staring at her on stage. Then there were the great, blurry, "behind the scene" paparazzi shots she had taken of Harry and Hailey laughing together backstage after the show. He had his hand on her arm and his face was stupidly fond, typical lovey dovey Harry. He was playing his part far too well. 

"Fabulous job, Reagan. I see Harry and Hailey are trending already." Lydia commented as she walked out of her office with her tablet in her hand. 

"Yeah, well, we all know how big of a deal it is when Harry's linked to someone." Reagan said ironically.

Lydia chuckled, not quite understanding the sarcasm dripping from Reagan's comment, "Yes, well, we were all teenagers once. It's hard being fifteen and in love with with a celebrity." 

"Tell me about it."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." Reagan said quickly. She cleared her throat for added measure.

"Where are the boys?" Lydia asked, scrolling through her phone, "Aren't they supposed to be in the studio with Julian?"

Reagan tried to play it cool, "Julian said something about the sound being better in the van, actually."

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Sure, use the tour van. You don't have a million dollar studio at your disposal." She kept muttering as she walked back into her office, and luckily left Reagan to her own devices without any further prodding. But then again, she was left in front of the computer, where she inevitably had to spend the entire day promoting Hailey. Reagan really had to wonder if she was stuck in some bad teenage love story. She just couldn't believe that this is what her life had amounted to, to her having to post pictures of her supposed boyfriend and his publicity girlfriend so that the public could forget that he was ever linked to her. Was that the life she wanted to lead? Fuck. She knew it wasn't. 

And yet, as she clicked on comment after comment, scrutiny about Hailey or some very explicit comment about Harry, she knew that having to deal with this, having to deal with all these people judging her under a microscope, was a very real part of being with Harry. She knew that from the moment she met him. Yet, she still it took her aback. She had spent so long hating herself, what she looked like, what she acted like, and finally, finally, when she was coming to grips with who she was and what she wanted, Harry fucking Styles walked into her life and turned it upside down. Suddenly it was like she was in high school all over again, and it sucked. 

Reagan was twenty two, she was almost done with college, she had a job! How could she be stuck in this perpetual cycle of stupidity and shallowness. The person who she wanted to be was not who she was now. She didn't want to have to be planning vengeance against the type of girl she had been fighting all her life. She didn't want to keep hating what she looked like, to keep being forced to be ashamed of who she was. But maybe the most important thing was that she knew what she wanted. She wanted to be with Harry, she wanted to love her life. She wanted to be happy. But all this time with Harry has shown her was that maybe their lives were just far too different. Maybe they weren't supposed to be together. And this wasn't her giving up, this wasn't her saying she didn't love him, this was her looking at everything they've been through these past few months, and the tumultuous journey that was still left. She was sure Hailey wouldn't even be the worst of it. 

So was he worth it? Was he worth the constant torment, the self-doubt, the self-hate? She was sure no boy was worth. Hell, no person or thing would ever be worth it. 

She jumped, her thoughts suddenly interrupted by her vibrating phone.

This photoshoot is sooooo boooring

Reagan breathed out, she loved him. That she didn't doubt. But did she love herself? Would she let herself do this without turning back into the old Reagan? Or worse yet...into a version of herself she didn't even recognize?

Boo hoo

Youve got it so easy all you have to do is be on the twitter all day

She rolled her eyes, did he realize what it was she had to do? Did he not see that she had been spending all posting pictures of him and Hailey?

Why are you even messaging me, talk to your girlfriend

shes in the studio, far too busy for my dribble

So I'm the backup. Wonderful. Sorry, I'm at work, actually doing my job.

I was just kidding rae, didnt you tell me to act as if i were really dating hailey? are you going to get mad at me for doing my job?

No, she wouldn't. She knew how he felt about her. But did he really understand what it meant for her to give up everything to be with him? She wasn't quite sure. She didn't want to let Hailey win, she couldn't. But at the same time, she needed to figure out if being with Harry meant losing herself, and if in the end, she would ever find herself again. 

No, of course not. Go back to work. I'll see you when you come back.

Have a good day beautiful.

She put down her phone, turned off her computer screen, and got up to stretch her legs. She found herself thinking once more that she was too old for this shit, that by now she should be more sure of herself, of who she was and what she wanted. Turned out being an adult didn't mean you got your life together, it just means it gets so much more complicated. Reagan just wished she were back in that hotel in Norway, asleep in Harry's arms. Maybe that's all she needed. Her own little world with him, where everything was good and where she could delude herself into believing that nothing else mattered. 

If only it were that easy.


	85. Chapter 85

"Mate, these pictures look ace," Liam exclaimed, looking at the computer screen as Louis flipped through all of the pictures the photographer had sent them from the shoot. All they had to do was pick one to be the cover art for the new single, shouldn't be too difficult. 

"Why do we pay these people so much money, we could just do this job ourselves," Niall said, loudly snacking on some chips. 

Liam turned to look at him, "Okay, settle down now, Niall. It was one shoot, we're not going rogue."

"Why the bloody hell not?" He asked between obnoxious crunches, leaning over Louis' shoulder to get closer to the screen. 

Louis pushed him back roughly, knocking the brightly colored bag out of Niall's hand, "This was an extraordinary circumstance. First and last time...most likely."

"I don't know mate." Niall said, picking the bag up off the floor, "They don't give us enough credit. We can do a lot more than they think. Can't we, Harry?"

Harry, clearly not paying attention, looked up and shrugged a non-committal shrug. 

"You haven't said a word this entire time, Haz. Something the matter?" Liam asked, concern obvious upon his face.

"No. It's nothing."

"It's Reagan, it's always Reagan." Louis said with a roll of his eyes. 

Harry grunted, "Whatever."

"What is she not responding to your texts?"

"She did."

"She still all adamant about that break-up business?"

"You guys broke up!?" Niall asked, almost spitting out bits of chip all over Liam, who obviously was not pleased in the slightest by the fact. 

Harry sighed, "No-"

"Yes. Well, technically no. But Hailey doesn't know that." Louis interjected.

"This is getting too complicated." Liam responded, "I thought Hailey didn't even know they were together."

"She didn't." Louis replied, "But Reagan supposedly thinks it would be best."

"The truth is always best." A typical Liam response, of course. 

"So would Harry not having to date another girl."

"I'm not dating her." Harry said in an aggravated tone.

"No one knows that. As far as the world is concerned, tonight when you go out to eat with her and kiss her in front of hundreds of cameras, you will be dating Hailey and Reagan will just be some weird theory a bunch of fans came up with."

Harry stayed silent, knowing that what Louis was saying was completely true. He didn't want it to be, but he knew it was regardless. 

"Really sucks to be you." Niall said, tilting the chip bag and trying to get every last crumb into his mouth.

Harry grumbled and curled into his seat, throwing his phone onto the coffee table next to him. 

Louis swung around in his chair, absolutely done with Harry. The past week had been complete and utter hell with his constant sighing and 'woe is me' demeanor. He was done. He had come to the conclusion that he didn't give a fuck what the media said about him becoming a father, Lydia be damned. He was sick and tired of constantly hiding things. What kind of role model was he going to be for his kid if he couldn't even get his shit together now?

"You really need to get over yourself." Louis said bluntly, looking straight at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Look, I know I asked you to do this for me, but fuck it. I'll be fine. Just be with Reagan already. I'd rather deal with the paparazzi and Lydia than your twattish grunting and groaning."

"You can't just-"

"Yeah, I can. I will." 

"Lou-"

"Harry, I'm done. I've had enough. Of you, of Zayn, of this whole mess. Maybe Liam's whole truth thing wouldn't be a bad thing to try out."

Niall leaned over to Liam and whispered, "What is he talking about?"Liam shrugged and shushed him, obviously wanting to listen to the rest. 

"But it isn't just about you. What about Reagan? What if she loses her job?"

Louis smirked, "All you're going to do is refuse to date Hailey. Nobody said anything about going public with Reagan. Besides, I mean, if you do go public with her Lydia can't fire her."

"She so would." Niall said.

"No she wouldn't. It would be bad press." 

"Lydia would be so pissed she wouldn't care about it being bad press." Niall argued.

"Have you met Lydia? She calculates every decision she makes. No matter how mad she is, she would never act on such a foolish impulse."

Harry leaned his head back, letting it hang off the back of the chair, "So what you're saying is that I'm free?"

Louis nodded, "At least from me. You have no responsibility towards me anymore. What you do now is up to you."

"What responsibility did he have towards you in the first place?" Liam asked with a furrowed brow.

Louis turned to face them, "Alright boys, I have something to tell you." 

"What did you do?" Liam immediately asked in an accusatory tone.

"See the thing is...I'm going to be a...well, I'm going to be a father."

"What!?" Liam exclaimed.

"You mean...like a priest?" Niall asked, clearly not understanding.

"Not a priest you fucking dumb ass." Louis said, punching Niall's arm, "A dad." He mumbled, "An actual dad."

"Woah." Liam said, letting it all sink in. 

"Yeah." Louis said, nodding.

"You're so not ready to be a dad." Niall said, rubbing his arm.

"Gee, Niall. Thanks for the vote of confidence." Louis said, smirking.

All the while Harry sat there pathetically looking at his phone, contemplating what to do while the rest of the boys bickered back and forth about how even though Louis would make an ace dad, it was sill shocking and they just needed some time to take it all in. 

"Does that mean we're his uncles?" Niall asked excitedly.

"His?" Louis asked, as if realizing for the first time that the baby could actually be a boy.

"Yeah, a little lad. Teach him how to play footie and how to get all the little girls on the playground." Niall continued.

"A boy." Louis said, a large smile plastered upon his face, remembering that night he had found out and the drunken conversation he had with Harry. 

"This is wonderful and all, mate. I mean truly. But what are you going to do about Lydia?" Liam asked. 

"Tell her the truth. I'm done with all this lying and shit. This single is the last thing."

"You say that now." Liam said, completely unconvinced.

"I mean it. This is-" Louis turned to look at Harry who had jumped up from his seat, grabbed his phone and ran towards the door, "Where in the bloody hell are you going!?"

"To end this." Harry called as he went towards the door.

"Your date isn't for another like-" The door slammed and Louis shook his head, "Your date isn't for another four hours."

—✴—

After having gained approximately 200k new followers on all her social media accounts, Hailey was feeling quite pleased with herself. Never mind the fact that in less than ten minutes she would be on her first official date with Harry. 

As she sat at their table in one of LA's most trendiest restaurants, she scrolled down her Twitter feed she saw retweet after retweet of pictures of her and Harry. They looked as if they belonged together, not like those pictures she had seen before of him and Reagan. 

She smirked to herself, coming across a picture of Harry smiling so incredibly sweetly at her, his eyes intently locked onto hers, his hand gripping her forearm as if keeping her grounded. He was falling for her, he had to be. There was no other explanation. 

"Hailey?" 

She looked up, recognizing that voice anywhere. But instead of finding the finely groomed, Gucci wearing Harry she had expected, she found him slightly disheveled wearing the same outfit she had seen him in that morning. That so wasn't part of the deal. She was focused on his clothing though, that she didn't notice how grim his face looked. Maybe though, that was for the best.

"Hey." Hailey responded, motioning for him to sit down and locking her phone.

"We need to talk." He said before his butt even hit the seat. 

Now she noticed the look upon his face, his fidgety hands, and his darting eyes. Something was wrong, very wrong. She wasn't one for relationships, but she knew what "we need to talk" meant. And if Harry was thinking of breaking up with her before their first date even started...no. She knew that couldn't possibly be it. Perhaps he had to go home and change those god awful clothes, or he forgot his wallet. Yes, that was most likely it. 

"What's wrong?" She asked with a face full of overly sweet concern. 

He frowned, not quite sure of how she would take the next few words that would come out of his mouth.

"Harry? You can tell me what's wrong." She said, leaning slightly over the table to reach for his hand. 

He pulled away, not all at once, but slightly so that he wouldn't hopefully offend her, "Look Hailey, the thing is..."

"Yes?" She said, pulling her obviously rejected hand back to her side. 

"I can't do this?"

She tilted her head, "Do what? This place? We can go somewhere else."

He sighed, "No, I mean this," He said, pointing between them, "I can't date you."


	86. Chapter 86

It was as if the weight of the entire world had shifted in that one moment. All of a sudden the light that emanated from Harry dimmed, the atmospheric music sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and the hopeful flutter that was in Hailey's heart dropped to her stomach and turned into unsettling nausea. 

"I'm sorry...what?" Hailey said almost in a whisper.

She kept trying to tell herself that this wasn't happening. That he was playing some kind of joke on her. That had to be it, after all, who would ever break up with someone like Hailey Stone?

Harry smiled a very forced and concerned smile, "But I still think we should be friends, you know? Even if we don't date? I mean, we weren't ever really going to be in a relationship after all."

"I-I"

"I know that we had an agreement, but god, Hails, aren't you just sick of all this?" He asked, playing with his fork and avoiding her stare, "Don't you just want to be able to be in charge of your own life for once?"

She had no idea what to say. Had it been anyone else she might have slapped him across the face, thrown her glass of water onto him, stormed out without a word. But she was frozen in her seat, and she was scared it was because her heart had just been broken. 

Harry reached across the table and grabbed her hand, only for a split second though, he was quite aware of the fact that this was a supposed date and that paparazzi could be anywhere, "You're a good person, Hailey. I want to keep having you in my life. But, this isn't fair to either of us. We shouldn't have to keep doing this kind of shit to be able to be someone in this world. I just want to be me, you know? Without having to parade someone as my partner, who I really have no romantic feelings for. That isn't fair to the person I actually am with."

Hailey's head snapped up, "You're with someone?"

Harry nodded, clearly still believing that he and Hailey were going to be okay and that he should be one hundred percent honest with her, "Yeah. I mean, technically she's not with me, as in like we're not officially dating, but she's the one. I can tell you that." He smiled bashfully. "And I mean, we should all have this feeling. We should all get to fall in love and show the world how happy we are. We shouldn't have to do this."

"I wanted to." She said pathetically.

Harry sighed, "I know you're new in the business, and I know you think that this means your career is over. Well, it doesn't. Be the bigger person Hails, stand up for what you believe in from the beginning. Don't wait until later when you'll regret it."

There were so many emotions swirling in Hailey all at once, she didn't know how to react. All she wanted was out. She needed to go, she needed to leave right in that instant. But she couldn't, she was frozen in her seat. She had never been broken up with, never. She was the one who decided when the relationship was over. She was the one who decided everything, really. So to say she was floored was too simple of a description. She was however completely and totally dumbfounded, wanting to cry and scream and shout all at once. How could he do this? How could he not see that they were meant to be together? Was he really leaving her for that fat and simple girl who in no way, shape, or form could compare to her?

"I just-I don't think..."

Harry tried to reassure her, thinking that she was more worried about her career than anything else, "Lydia isn't going to stop working with you. You're talented, you have what it takes. You don't need me to make you famous, Hails, you can do that on your own." And with that he got up from his seat and gave her a gawky half-hearted salute, "I'm off before more press gathers outside, you alright with leaving after me? I'm in a bit of a rush. You know if we're seen together it just beats the point of us saying we're not dating." He shrugged.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine." She choked out, "Just go."

He smiled excitedly, knowing exactly where he was going next, "Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Hailey didn't respond, instead she grabbed her condensation streaked glass of water and took ravenous gulps until the knot in her throat dissipated and the tears in her eyes were no longer threatening to escape. Once she was able to compose herself, and Harry was long gone, she managed to think clearly about what it was that she wanted to do. She knew the cards she had been dealt, but she still had once ace up her sleeve. She wasn't about to lose to Reagan, not ever. 

Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned after all. 

—✴—

Reagan tried to keep busy, as busy as she possibly could considering all she could think about was Harry and Hailey. She still couldn't see a way out of the situation she was in, and not surprisingly it made even more knots in her stomach. But there she was, at home on her computer trying to finish some work. Pretending as always that everything was perfectly and totally fine. 

"Tonight's the night, huh?" Kennedy asked, coming down the staircase to peruse the fridge. 

"What night?" Reagan replied, trying to play it off. 

Kennedy peeked from behind the large, steel, fridge door, "You know damn well what night it is."

Reagan turned back to her laptop, ignoring her younger sister all together. She heard Kennedy rustling through the contents of the fridge, and then the door slam shut when she had finally chosen something to her liking. Reagan just wanted to be alone. She hoped that Kennedy would just drop it and go eat whatever it was she had in her hands far away from her.

But no, instead Kennedy, clearly not getting the hint, noisily pulled out a stool and sat down across from Reagan with a carton of unidentifiable leftovers.

"What are you even eating?" Reagan asked, wondering when the last time was that they had ordered Chinese. She knew it was not recent.

Kennedy shrugged, "Smelled fine."

"Gross." Reagan mumbled, checking Twitter for probably the fiftieth time in the last half hour.

"So how are things with you and Harry? You guys are still a thing right?""

Reagan gave a non-committal shrug and continued scrolling through her feed. 

"You haven't talked to him?"

"Not today."

"But you have talked to him then? You guys are okay."

Reagan took a breath before responding, "We're fine."

"Louis said you guys are still acting weird around each other."

"Louis should fucking worry about himself." Reagan muttered.

"You sound bitter."

"Eat your food, the smell is making me want to barf."

Kennedy smirked, not taking offense because she knew that Reagan was on edge. She wanted to be the sympathetic and supportive sister, but she didn't really have a lot to go on, considering that Reagan was practically shutting her out. "No news?" She asked in hopes of an actual response. 

Reagan shook her head, "But no news is good news, right?"

"Is it?"

"I guess."

"But I mean, that's so stupid. If you're waiting for news, even bad news would be good news because you finally know what happened."

"What are you even saying-" But before Reagan could even begin trying to decipher Kennedy's statement, her phone began to ring, "Hello? Lydia?"

Kennedy continued munching on what she believed to be some kind of meat and veggie combination. She thought about the conversation she had with Louis over the phone earlier, and how he had said he had to tell her something important, he had insisted that it be in person as well. She began to hope it was that maybe he was realizing he had feelings for her. But then she pushed that thought out of her head, knowing full well that was never going to happen.

"What do you mean he didn't go on the date!?"

Kennedy's head snapped up upon hearing Reagan say those words. The suddenness of her movement made her choke on the food she was eating, and within seconds she was gasping for air. Reagan turned to look at Kennedy, fully prepared to do the heimlich. But Kennedy quickly reached for her glass of water, and with three big gulps she was able to kind of stop the coughing.

"Are you okay?" Reagan asked, grabbing Kennedy's glass and refilling it with water.

Kennedy nodded, still heaving a bit, "Why are you still here?"

"What?"

"What-" She coughed loudly, "The fuck are you still here for!? Didn't Lydia say Harry didn't go on the date!?"

"What do you think I'm going to run to him because he did?'

"Yes!"

"The only reason I would go to him is to yell at him for being so reckless!"

"Then go! I don't care about the reasons you have to give yourself to say it's okay. You know you want to go to him, so just fucking do it because you love him!" Kennedy took a breath, "Stop making up excuses. This is a sign! You can't keep passing up chances to be with him! One day they're all going to be gone!"

Reagan looked at Kennedy, then at her phone. It was only eight, still relatively early. 

"Go!" Kennedy yelled.

So without giving it a second thought Reagan grabbed her keys out of the bowl on the counter, grabbed a sweater, and gave wordlessly gave Kennedy a kiss on the cheek before practically sprinting out the door. She was mad, fucking furious. She wanted to punch Harry in his smug, angelic, hipster ass face. She was so furious she actually might. 

But Kennedy didn't see the anger, or rather she saw past it. She knew that even though Reagan meant to go yell at Harry, that she wouldn't be able to stay mad at him for more than three seconds. They just had to finally make it official, if they didn't now then Kennedy knew they just weren't meant to be together.

She took another slow sip of water as the door slammed shut. She heard Reagan's car start in the drive way, and as it drove off in the direction of Harry's house, all Kennedy could think was, "About fucking time."


	87. Chapter 87

Harry had wanted to get to Reagan before Lydia could call her and tell her what he had done, but he figured he had a few hours at least. And besides, it was already late, he didn't want to go make a ruckus at Reagan's house when her father and mother were home. Her father already hated him, he didn't need to give him more reasons to do so. Also, he figured that if Reagan did find out before he could tell her, well that she would most likely hunt him down. So in reality there was no reason to go find her, she would come storming to him. 

Although these were very logical reasons, he knew they were just excuses. He didn't want to go to Reagan because, well fuck, the moment was finally here. This was it. He was terrified of her saying no again. As much as he hated to admit it, he just couldn't muster up the courage to go to her.

Again, this was something completely new to him. Harry was always the charmer, always could get what he wanted when he wanted it. And yet with Reagan...Well with Reagan it's been something completely different. Of course, he loved it, he loved that there was no facade, no games. Or well, none of those typical games. But it's been something he didn't realize he'd been missing. And now that he had it, or rather almost had it, he was scared of losing it. He was scared of losing her. 

And all of this he realized around 8:16 PM as he mindlessly flipped through things to watch on Netflix without finding anything of interest. He had tried writing, but nothing came out. He had already gotten all the words he needed to say onto paper, all the things Reagan needed to hear into song. So all he had to distract him was his shitty Netflix subscription he forgot he had and had signed up for only to watch an indie documentary that had been recommended to him in the first place—and that Niall was most likely leeching off of considering his viewing history. 

Frustrated at the fact he had nothing to do (and that he was terrified of actually doing the thing he was supposed to) he switched off his TV, threw the remote on the couch, and figured he could use a shower. He peeled off his shirt, threw it on a chair in his dining room, and made his way to his favorite bathroom in the house. He hated the fact that there was more than one bathroom, but found solace in the fact that out of the three, the one in his bedroom was the best of all. Not that he spent much time at his house anyway.

For added measure Harry hooked up his phone to his iPod dock, ready to blast some music, but as he was about to put on his "Bath Time" Playlist his phone began to vibrate. His heart rate immediately shot up upon seeing Reagan's name upon the screen. But somehow he managed to compose himself and answered before it went to voicemail, "Hello?"

"Open your door! Now!"

Before he could say another word the call was disconnected. He didn't even have to ask, he knew that she knew. Of course she knew. She wouldn't be at his house at this hour if she didn't.

He sprinted bare footed to the door, disregarding the fact that he didn't have a shirt on and that his pants were unbuttoned. 

It didn't take more than 30 seconds for him to reach the door and open it, but for Reagan it felt like an eternity. She didn't even know why she was there. She wasn't supposed to be there. She was furious at him, but at the same time she needed to know why in the hell he would do something like that. And if maybe she was the reason. 

Harry though would never have pegged Reagan for anything other than beyond fucking furious when he saw her. He had never seen her that way, her eyes had darkened behind her glasses, her hair was slightly messy, her lips were pouted and the moment she had seen him shirtless she become completely flushed. She was in skin tight leggings and a baggy t-shirt for god's sake. She was quite possibly the single most attractive woman he had ever seen in his life. And the fact that she looked this incredibly sexy when she was angry? 

"Do you want to explain to me what it is that you've done?" She asked, making direct eye contact and avoiding the fact that he was nearly naked.

He smirked, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Reagan pushed past him and entered his home, he consequently closed the door and smugly looked at her, even though inside he was radiating a nervous kind of energy he hadn't felt in quite a long time.

"Would you like to sit down?" He asked, motioning towards the living room.

"No!"

"Alright," He muttered, "You're more of a standing kind of screamer. That's quite fine, go right along with it Rae."

"Don't patronize me. You know damn well what you've done! How are you going to fix it!? Hailey's refusing to speak to anyone, Lydia's about to have a meltdown, and-"

"You? What about you?"

"I'm fucking pissed!" She said, making angrily crossing her arms.

"So you're mad I didn't go on a date with another girl?"

Reagan, although completely over the moon about the fact, still had to think about the minor detail that was holding her back from jumping into Harry's arms: the stupid dvds Hailey had, "I'm mad you, as always, do as you damn well please and leave the mess for someone else! For once, couldn't you have just fucking gone along with it!?"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"You think life is just that easy? That you can just pick and choose what it is that you want to do!? Not all of us have the luxury of being a pop star, Harry!"

Harry furrowed his brow, his smirk faltering upon his face. Yeah he had expected some anger, but perhaps he had been mistaking in dreaming that this reunion would result in Reagan confessing her love for him and them both living happily ever after. Reagan looked pretty fucking mad, madder than he had ever seen her. But still, didn't she understand? Even after everything that's happened, couldn't she see that they were meant to be together? It made him equally as angry hearing her say he should've just gone along with it, "You seriously wanted me to date Hailey, Reagan? Really!?"

"We agreed that it was just for a little while! You said you were fine with it! You weren't even really going to date her!" She argued, even though she fully well knew Hailey's intentions.

Harry grew angrier by the second. In fact, Reagan was sure she had never seen him turn that particular shade of red before. But she couldn't help herself, she had come over with such anger burning inside of her that she couldn't stop the words from spewing out, "You had one fucking job! One! But as always you just couldn't do it, could you? As always I have to be the one making excuses and cleaning up your messes! It was one thing Harry, just one! Why couldn't you just do this one thing!?"

"It's always just one more thing! Do you think I'm stupid!? You think my life is so easy? Come on Reagan, don't be bloody stupid. You've been working with us for almost half a year, you know what goes on in that office! You know all the bullshit we have to put up with ! And after all this bullshit I've been through the past four years, you think that I should just suck it up and not even have a say in who I love?"

Reagan went pale, "I-"

"You what? You didn't know? Don't tell me you didn't know I love you, because you damn well know!" He had been getting closer and closer to her as his voice began rising. She on the other hand had lost a bit of the cloudiness in her eyes and the fire in her demeanor. "And if you think that I have to prove it to you by having to continue being someone I'm not then-" His voice shakily went down a notch, "You aren't the person I thought you were."

"That's not fair!" She yelled back.

"Nothing about this is fair, Rae. Either you lose your job or we lose each other. Does that seem fair? Of course it fucking doesn't!" 

Reagan stayed quiet for a second, contemplating whether she should even tell Harry about the blackmail Hailey had over her. At his point, she knew he was right. Had she worked all her life just to be involved in a business that made her hide who she really was. A career built around lies and deceit was nothing to be proud of, it was not the legacy she wanted to build. Lydia be damned, she was going to be who she wanted to be. And it was time the boys got to do the same. 

"You're right."

Harry took a step back, "What?"

"I said you're right."

He tilted his head slight, "What, you're going to make it that easy? After making that big of scene?"

She nodded, "Yep."

"You're fucking kidding me." He dropped his arms down to his sides and looked at her with an incredibly perplexed look upon his face.

She shook her head, "You're right." She stepped towards him, "Life isn't fair. But if we keep letting other people dictate what we can or can't do, then we're never going to live it, are we?"

"Can't let them define us."

She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Exactly."

He pressed her to him, his bare arms wrapping around her body and squeezing her tightly too him. She was becoming acutely aware of the fact that he was shirtless. 

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to tell you something important."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"Are you really, or are you just going to tease me like you did on the beach the first time we kissed?"

She smiled remembering the moment in perfect clarity, it was fitting for this moment, "I'm really going to tell you something."

"And what's that?"

"You are the most obnoxious, annoying, dimwitted, pretentious, accident-proned, awkward ass, hipster looking twig I have ever met in my entire life."

"Oh gee, thanks-"

She placed a finger to his lips with a smirk upon her own, "But I love you. I fucking love you regardless of all the things you are." She took her finger off his soft lips and instead placed her lips upon his, taking them off only for a correct herself, "I love you for all the things that make you who you are, Harry."

He smiled, and god it was probably the dorkiest smile Reagan had ever seen, but it was for her. He was hers. And if he was going to smile like that only for her, then god she would enjoy it forever.

"Finally." Harry said, taking her in her arms, tilting her chin towards his, and fervently kissing her. She could feel his smile upon her lips as he muttered again, "Finally."

And Reagan didn't know if she was losing her mind, or if it was the slew of emotions within her all wanting to be released at once, but she let him press her to him. She let him feel every inch of her body, let him kiss her ravenously. And when he asked, "Can you stay?" She knew it wasn't a question of whether she'd spend the night with him as she had before, no, it was a fully loaded question. One that he had been afraid to pose before. One that had a meaning she fully understood. He was asking her if she was ready, and with all of the adrenaline from her first confession running through her veins, she finally understood why Kennedy had said that there was no perfect time, that she wasn't going to be able to plan it. And instead of a thousand questions running through her head, she only saw one answer.

Harry looked at her, a glimmer of worry in his eyes, "I-I'm sorry is that too forward?'

She shook her head, trailing kisses upon his collarbone, "I'll stay." 

His eyes widened as if not expecting that response, after all he wasn't really. But caught up in the heat of the moment, he had felt it right to ask. He hadn't before, knowing she wasn't ready. But that night, it felt as if everything had fallen into place.

"I'll stay." She repeated reverently, almost as if to pull him back into reality. Her lips upon his warm, fragrant skin, her hands on his strong, firm back, anchoring him in the moment "I'll stay."


	88. Chapter 88

Pressed against the coolness of his mattress, Reagan felt as if her heart were in her throat. There were a million and one thoughts running through her head as he laid above her. His wavy and untamed hair was in his face, his chest bare and his eyes brighter than she had ever seen them. And just as she studied him, he purposefully glanced at her. 

The laughter had come and gone as they had rushed up the carpeted steps. When he led her into his room and he immediately pressed her onto his bed, and when she had kissed him and made fireworks light up, he had to ask, "Is this your first time?"

And hesitantly, almost as if a bit of the fire had dimmed, she nodded.

The nervous energy that had made Harry push Reagan onto his bed had dissipated. Now a certain type of calm washed over them, one that only came with the sureness of what they were about to do.

It was like this only for a moment, the stillness between them almost electric, full of wants and needs and words that just didn't need to be spoken. There was just silence as they looked at each other, almost too aware of what was to come. He didn't care if he was her first, and she had to have known she'd be his last. It was unspoken, unwritten, but it was. It simply was.

Reagan had never imagined it would be this way. She didn't believe she would be in bummy clothes and her too thick rimmed glasses. That her hair wouldn't be freshly washed and that her underwear would not be anything but lacey and delicate. But there she was, her breathing becoming heavier as Harry began tracing the hot skin underneath her thin t-shirt. 

All this time worrying about how she looked, what she wore, all the frustrations and self-loathing, it all seemed to begin to wash away. It was not Harry's touch that did it, but rather the knowledge that she was going to let go. That she was going to go forth into the unknown, worrying now only about her happiness.

But Harry's scorching skin upon hers, his inhales and breathy exhales radiating heat upon her already too warm skin, it anchored her in this moment. It made her conscious of her decision to break down her walls and forget her dispositions. It made her fully aware of the person who was right before her, the one who she firmly believed would be the one who would always be by her side. 

And it was not some teenage wish, nor was it a desperate plea, rather it was simply an acknowledgement of a fact. She and Harry were inexplicably linked forevermore. It was not a choice, it was fate. They were meant to find each other, they were meant to show each other how to break free of their reservations. And even if this was the only night they had, or if they were to have a thousand more, she would never regret having met him. 

Of course though, she didn't articulate a word of this to him, instead he simply peered at her with those knowing eyes of his. They were full of wonder and light interwoven with wisps of desire and bursts of passion. An intoxicating blend that made her dizzy. 

He didn't dare look away though, not as he began tracing his hands up and down skin he had yet to touch. Not as he slipped her shirt over her head, or his hands over the curves of her waist. Not even as he pulled her pants down around her ankles and threw them onto the wooden floor.

Harry wanted to look at her for as long as possible. But as his hands slipped over her brightly colored florals, he breathed in trying to restrain himself. He had to draw her against his aching hardness and then all he could think was "Oh my god."

He didn't say it. Didn't want her to feel uncomfortable as he began to explore the beautiful uncharted territory he had yet to feel under his callused hand. He couldn't contain himself. As much as it was about having her physically, it was about having her period. She was his. He was hers. It was damn well time.

He slid his hand over one curved hip, over the smooth skin, slipped the floral material down over it. His fingers slid between her thighs. She jumped, twitched. Sliding his hand over to the other hip, he drew the the remaining material away as she lifted her hips to let him. There was nothing between them now but his own clothing. And he made it achingly clear as he pressed his body to Reagan's, letting each curve match up with the other. 

She moaned lightly, her achingly needy voice almost bouncing off the walls. Harry nearly lost it right there, upon hearing her so incredibly vulnerable, so full of need. 

All Reagan could feel was his touch, all she knew was the heat that moved through her, the need. She was speechless, nearly mindless. And as he leaned over her to reach into his dresser, she couldn't think of anything but the need to have him. She loved him. Everything else faded away, it was only the two of them. 

"Are you sure?" He muttered between heavy breaths and flushed cheeks. He didn't want to stop, he knew what she felt. He could feel her want, her blatant desire.

"I love you." She answered, giving him the only affirmation he would ever need.

"I love you too." He responded, losing himself in the meaning of her words and feel of her skin. 

Both of them too consumed with the overwhelming feelings of love and lust, both simultaneously and interchangeable. First love at its finest.

—✴—

Perhaps for the first time Reagan was grateful for the fact that her parents once again had left for a few days. How she would explain her absence from the house for the entire night, she didn't know. But then, it didn't matter. She didn't have to.

"God." Harry breathed into her hair, his arms tightly and protectively hold her to his chest.

"What?"

"You are so bloody sexy. How is it possible?"

Reagan flushed, "Shut up."

"Don't get shy on me now." He said, teasing her, "You're quite possibly an angel without wings. But then, were your wings taken away because of how fit you are? Too beautiful for your own good?"

"I'm going to get up and leave if you don't stop."

"Oh no!" He said fakely, "Please, don't get up and walk around my bedroom naked. The horror." He chuckled and added for good measure, "But if you must, I won't stop you" and unwrapped his arms from her body, as if propelling her off the bed.

She looked up at him judgingly. 

"Come of it now, I can't help it if you drive me mad."

She rolled her eyes but made herself comfortable in his arms once more. 

"You know." He said, his voice becoming serious, "The difficult part is only about to begin. What's happened, that's only the beginning."

"Yeah." She nodded, her chin brushing against the butterfly tattoo on his abdomen, "But we have each other now. Isn't that the important thing?"

"Remember that tomorrow when Lydia attempts to kill me."

"At least we had tonight." She said, matter of factly, turning her back to him and stretching out upon the bed.

He smiled widely, turning as well and enjoying the fact that perhaps this was only the beginning. That for many more nights they would fall asleep to the sounds of each other's voices. That finally, fucking finally, they had made it. 

Now to weather the storm that may come together.


	89. Chapter 89

It was quiet, too quiet. Reagan had walked into the office expecting ominous music, shouts, screams, something, anything. But there was only silence, and somehow that was just worse. 

Lydia was not in yet, neither were any of the boys. She had been so incredibly anxious to get to work through, that she had gotten there forty-five minutes early. She was sure Hailey was going to pull something. She just had to, she had been quiet for almost 24 hours, that meant she was plotting something huge...didn't it?

Reagan sat down at her desk, turned on her computer, and waited for her screen to load. She was so sure that when she opened her Twitter tab that there would thousands of posts about her and Harry, that their names would be all the trending topics. That all the worst-case scenarios she had thought of before would finally come to fruition. But there was nothing. Something still about Zayn signing to RCA, something about some other celebrity, something about a dog, but other than that they were safe. Somehow they were still okay. 

She sighed loudly, now not completely sure that she was ready to face this all. It was just too good to be true, there had to be some twist. Somewhere Hailey had to be planning their demise. But god, at the same time it was so worth it. She still felt electric currents pulsing through her body as she thought of Harry. He was finally all hers, finally. Her mind hadn't even processed what had happened between them the night before.

Luckily Kennedy had been asleep when Reagan had snuck into the house for a quick shower and change of clothing, because if not she would have to face her younger sister and she knew that the moment she looked at her, she would know what had happened between her and Harry. She wasn't even ready to admit it to her little sister, who was rooting for them, how could she possibly admit that she and Harry were together to the world?

"Boo." 

She jumped at Louis' voice in her ear, smacking him in the process. 

"Fuck!" He yelled, rubbing his cheek.

"Don't scare me then!" She said loudly, clearly not caring if she had hurt him or not. 

Louis smiled, his hand still upon reddened skin, "Still worth it." He plopped down in the seat beside her, smirking. He breathed in and slightly shrugged, "News came out today." He nodded towards Reagan's computer screen where a picture of Zayn signing a contract had popped up. Reagan quickly closed it and faced him.

"Are you still sure this is the right course of action?" She asked, praying that he would change his mind. On top of Lydia finding out Harry didn't go on his date, this was the last thing she needed. 

"You're not going to talk me out of it, Reagan Bailey, you should know better." Louis looked at her head on and furrowed his brow, "You look wrecked, have you even slept?"

She mumbled something incoherently and quickly changed the subject, "There is no way." Reagan said shaking her head, "You can't just drop this music video in the middle of the night. Lydia will literally murder you, Louis."

"Like I give a fuck."

"I give a fuck! I give many fucks!"

"That's the problem, you care far too much, Rae." He leaned back in his seat, "You just have to ride it out. Whatever happens, happens."

"Seriously? You realize I'm in PR right? Whatever happens, I have to fix it."

"There's literally nothing to fix. Everything is going to go perfectly, just you wait."

"How can you be so sure?"

Louis smiled brightly, "Sometimes you just are."

And right then Reagan wished badly that she could be so easy going, so confident. She was though, last night she was. She took that final leap and now there was no turning back. Was she scared? Yeah, there was doubt that she was scared, but she was ready. She couldn't be as easy going as Louis or as optimistic as Harry, but she would get there. 

"When are you dropping it?"

"Midnight."

"NO YOU'RE NOT!"

"Reagan, it has to be in the middle of the night!"

"Why!? Who's going to see it at that hour!?"

He smirked confidently, "You think too little of our fans. That song will be number 1 by morning."

"Let's be realistic, Lou-"

"I am being realistic!" He breathed out, his smile never faltering, "You can just feel when things are going to turn out alright, Rae. You just feel it, even though everyone else thinks you're going to fail." He didn't say it pointedly, or with any kind of hostility, he knew Reagan was just genuinely worried. But it didn't bother him. She'd see soon enough.

"Louis, I just don't know if you should be doing this just to spite Zayn. Do you know how much the press is going to spin this?"

"I stopped caring about the press long ago."

She sighed, "You love making my job hard."

"I also love showing you that there's more to life than following the rules." He winked, getting up from his seat, "By the way, tell Harry to restrain himself from being so obvious when he comes in."

"What?"

"He called me this morning," He chuckled, "Told me he hadn't gone out on the date, that he had spent the evening with you instead."

She blushed furiously, "I-"

"He didn't say anything else, don't worry. He's a gentleman. Fucking obvious, but a gentleman." 

"Okay." She nodded curtly, turning away form him.

"No, come on now. Cheers, Reagan! Everything's coming together!"

She shook her head, fighting a smile, "Get to work, Tomlinson. T-minus 15 hours."

"Aye, aye captain!" 

He ran off somewhere, probably to have a few final listen to's of the song. While Reagan remained, anxiously awaiting for Lydia to come in. She hoped it would be before Harry did, because as Louis so eloquently put it, he was just too fucking obvious. Lydia would immediately know that something was up between them. Hell, who was she kidding, by the end of the day everyone who Harry knows is going to know that they were together. Ultimately it was inevitable, but she hoped it would be as painless as possible

Reagan lifted her head at the slamming of a door, and knew that it was Lydia. She only slammed the large wooden door whenever she was in a foul mood. 

"Reagan." She heard Lydia curtly say as she passed by her briskly, "My office, now."

Reagan gulped. Whatever happened next, she knew she had to face it with her head held high. She had made her choice, and she wouldn't go back on it now. Not after everything she had been through.

"Reagan! Now!"

It wasn't going to be easy though, not by a long shot.


	90. Chapter 90

Lydia tapped her long, manicured fingernails upon her wooden mahogany desk. Reagan could hear the seconds on the clock ticking away, the beat of her heart rapidly accelerating. She was petrified, utterly, and completely frozen to the spot. She had mentally prepared herself for this, but it was completely different from actually facing one of her greatest fears. She thought of Hailey, of how she basically had Reagan's entire reputation in the palms of her freshly manicured hands. She thought of Harry, of how she knew it was worth it, but at the same time of how scared she was to lose everything on something that wasn't completely for sure. She could feel herself sweating bullets, and prayed that the boys would miraculously show up on time today so that Lydia wouldn't be able to yell at her for an entire hour. 

"Reagan?" Lydia said calmly, too calmly.

"Yes?"

"Why did I open my twitter feed to find nothing on Harry's date with Hailey?"

Reagan shrugged, knowing that as Harry had told her the night before, she had to play stupid. If Lydia knew that she knew that Harry had not gone through with his job, then she would be getting the brunt of the blame, not him, "I don't know. I was actually going to ask you the same. I contacted the paparazzi this morning that we contracted, and they told me that they hadn't gotten any shots of them together because they had left separately."

Lydia's eyes narrowed, "They left separately?"

"I've been trying to contact both of them," Lies, utter necessary lies, "But neither would answer. I don't know what's going on."

Lydia sighed loudly, trying to compose herself. 

"That Harry." Lydia muttered, shaking her head and lifting her mug to take a swig of coffee. The pungent odor made Reagan's stomach turn, "He always wants to do whatever the bloody hell he feels is right. I should be paid triple for dealing with him."

Reagan nodded sympathetically, completely understanding where Lydia was coming from. There was a reason the boys could never keep their PR people around, and its name was Harry Styles. Lydia though, Lydia was the toughest they had, and as much as Harry pushed her buttons, she also had a soft spot for him. She understood that underneath it all he just wanted the freedom to be himself, and as much as it may have cost her extra work, she didn't mind it as much as long as he didn't make too much of a muck of things.

This particular situation though, Reagan knew this would be Lydia's breaking point. She had been cutting Harry so much slack this year, but when she found out that he and Reagan were...

"Reagan, I'll call Hailey-"

"No!" Reagan said, a little too loudly, Lydia looked at her taken aback. "I um, I'll do it. It might be easier for me to do it since we're friends, you know?"

Lydia nodded, "Yes, we still do need her to continue working with the label, even if we can't get Harry to go out on a date with her. Maybe we can set her up with Niall?"

Reagan tried to restrain herself from laughing, "Yeah. I mean if Harry can't do it, I'm sure Niall will get her the exposure she needs."

Lydia shook her head, "I should have never trusted Harry to do this job. Never should have forced him either." She rolled her eyes, "Heaven knows that boy does whatever he pleases."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We try to convince him to reconsider-"

"Is that really..."

"No, he's not going to reconsider. But it never hurts to try. "

Reagan furrowed her brow, she couldn't believe that it was this easy. If she ever tried to defy order like Harry did she would be fired. Then again, she didn't pay Lydia's salary.

"At least Hailey seems like the understanding type. Maybe she won't mind if we just change our strategy a bit. Niall is a nice boy after all, once you get past his...strangeness." Lydia continued on, almost trying to convince herself that it would be okay. Reagan wished she could be half as optimistic. 

"Do you want me to call Hailey then?" She asked, almost hoping Lydia would say no.

"She hasn't called you?"

"No."

"I would've expected dozens of calls from her by now. I thought she was really looking forward to going on this date with Harry, even if he didn't think it was real. Poor thing, probably got her hopes up. I did think Harry would fall for this one though."

"Why is that?"

"Don't they just look perfect together?" Lydia asked, a smile spreading across her face, "Every PR agent's dream."

Reagan held back her eye roll, "I'll leave you to your work." She said curtly.

"Send Harry in when he gets here."

Speak of the devil, Harry managed to walk in right as Reagan closed the door to Lydia's office behind her. He took one look at Reagan and his face flushed completely. 

"Hey." He said, almost shyly. The fact that he looked so coy struck Reagan too hard, had her equally, if not more, shy than he was. 

"Hi." She said, avoiding looking at him, "Lydia wanted to talk to you."

He nodded, "I thought she would."

"Yeah." She replied, placing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Harry shook his head, walking toward her, "Don't do this, Rae. This isn't us."

"What?"

"This whole awkward thing."

"You started it." She said, looking at him pointedly.

"Yeah, well..." His lips curled into a very potent and dangerous smile, "I had one glance at you and immediately remembered last night."

She blushed furiously, "Oh god." She covered her face. 

He winked as he passed by her, "See you later." And into the office he went, surely to be yelled at to no end. 

While Reagan caught her breath her head and her heart whirred with a flurry of emotions she didn't even know how to process. 

"Need a moment?" Louis asked as he walked out of the studio, a smirk very apparent upon his face.

"Weren't you busy?" She asked, hoping she didn't sound like she was completely and totally out of it.

He shrugged, "Taking a break and getting some tea, need something to calm me down." Louis showed her the mug in his hand, "Do you want one?"

"Do I look that bad?"

He chuckled, "Harry has that effect on all of us."

"Even you?"

"I'm immune. Clearly." He replied. 

"If only it were that easy." She said, breathing out loudly. 

"If it were easy we both know it wouldn't be half as fun, love." He smirked as he looked at her. 

"Just go make the tea."

"Because I'm British?"

"Because you offered?"

"That doesn't sound like me, fatherhood must be changing me."

Reagan laughed, "Change is never bad."

With a smug, knowing look he replied, "Aha, you remember that then. Change is going be coming towards us fast, Reagan Bailey."


	91. Chapter 91

Hailey opened her eyes, her head throbbing violently. Her phone vibrated upon her nightstand, a sound ridiculously amplified by her hangover. She threw her pillow at it, as if that would stop it. It was not until the phone rung for the sixth time that she got up and bothered to look at who it was that was incessantly calling her through squinted eyes. When she saw the name Reagan Bailey upon her screen, her insides twisted and her hands turned into tight fists. Needless to say, the last thing she wanted was to talk to Reagan. 

Last night she had gotten completely wasted at the hotel bar, half expecting to be cut off at some point. But she wasn't, she figured it was the unwavering, pathetic sadness in her eyes that kept the bartender at bay and her shot glass filled.

Her pounding headache made her regret the alcohol, but at the same time it kept her from going off the deep end. After everything that had happened, he still chose her. And she didn't know what to make of it. 

Hesitantly though, she hit answer, just for the sake of hearing Reagan squirm her way through a conversation with her. But in reality all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and never have to deal with Harry, Reagan, or anything else ever again.

"Hello?" 

Reagan cleared her throat, "Hailey?"

"What?"

"Are you coming in today?"

"I think not."

There was an awkward lull, Hailey could almost feel Reagan's discomfort. That at least made her feel better. 

"Hailey, you can't just not come into work," Reagan whispered, she obviously didn't want Lydia to hear, "You're recording today."

"I believe I can do whatever I want, especially since I have something of yours that you don't want made public."

Reagan sighed, "Hailey."

"I can come in." Hailey replied, a sly smile upon her face, "I have to show Lydia this DVD before I release it anyway. She should have the honor of being first."

"Fine." Reagan relented, "Don't come in. But you're only hurting yourself, you're the one missing your studio time."

"Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself." And with that she hung up.

She still had no idea how to counter Harry's dismissal of her. A part of her wanted to ruin him, to destroy his career. Another part of her wanted Reagan to take the grunt of her anger, it was her fault after all that Harry didn't want her. Or so she thought in that twisted mind of hers.

Hailey didn't want to be alone though, not now. Ten minutes ago she would have preferred it, but after having heard Reagan's voice on the phone it had awoken all the feelings she tried drinking away the night before. So lonely Hailey called the only person she believed could possibly understand what she was feeling.

"Hello? Hey, Kennedy? Yeah, it's Hailey. You think we could talk?"

—✴—

"Honestly, not as bad as I thought it would be." Harry said, a wide smirk upon his face.

Louis chuckled to himself as Reagan groaned across the room. She had taken to avoiding all the boys for the time being, they were stressing her out far too much for her liking.

"So Lydia was fine with it?" Niall asked, completely in disbelief.

"Yeah, mate."

"So all that yelling was her being 'fine with it'?" Louis quipped as he sipped his mug of tea. 

"You know Lydia." Harry said, "Always a lively one."

Niall shook his head, "There is no way she was fine with it. Fuck, no. You got off that easily?"

Harry smirked, "Must be my charm."

From across the room Reagan scoffed, making the other two boys chuckle. Harry turned to look at her pointedly, "You have something to say to me, Bailey?"

"Nothing Mr. Styles, just trying to do my job." And with that Reagan promptly turned back to her laptop and continued typing away, trying to fix all the damage Harry had made last night, and bracing herself for what was most certainly about to come with the boys' impromptu single drop at midnight. 

"Where's Liam?" Harry asked, his brow slightly furrowed. 

"Off making a remix of the single." Louis replied in an exasperated tone.

Niall leaned back upon the couch, and put his feet up on the coffee table, "I thought he liked it as it was?" 

Louis shrugged, "You know him, DJ Payno being a pain in the ass-o."

Niall burst out laughing, as always whenever Louis made a joke, or tried to.

Harry simply shook his head, "Hey now, better he get the chance to express himself creatively then repress him and have him turn into Zayn."

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. Nobody repressed Zayn, if anything he alienated his fucking self. We all had a say in our music, but he wanted no part in it."

"Okay." Harry said unconvincingly.

"What are you going to side with him?"

"You know I don't side with anyone."

"Oh, so you don't side with us?"

Niall looked helplessly between them, wanting them to stop fighting. He hated when people fought, especially the boys. 

"I didn't say that."

"You just said, I don't side with anyone."

"Can we just drop this? Is this really the important thing right now, shouldn't we be focusing on dropping the single?" Harry asked, subtly wanting to change the subject before he got Louis all worked up about Zayn again. 

It was too late though, "You want to talk about dropping the single? Well, seems that if we drop that single then your allegiances will be to us, will you be okay betraying your boyfriend?"

Harry punched Louis in the arm, "Fuck off. I'm done talking about it, I'm sorry I even mentioned it. I shouldn't have said anything, I forgot how sensitive you are about Zayn."

"I am not!"

"Really? You realize you're risking a whole hell of a lot just to spite him right? Those are not the actions of someone who is fine."

"I am fucking fine. You know what? I have a right to be mad! I have a right to want to spite him! After all the shit we've been through, he just decides to fucking leave! Who does that? No explanation, no warning!? And he had the audacity to say it was to be a normal 22 year old, and look at him! He signed with another fucking label!"

Niall stared at Louis wide-eyed. Harry sat in silence, taking his friend's anger in.

"And you know what? No I don't believe your I don't side with anyone bullshit. I know you don't side with anyone because you think it's your fault that he left. But it's not, Haz. It's not. He made his choice, and not one person influenced it."

Harry shook his head, "I was never there for him."

"He never wanted you to be, Harry."

"But we could've done more."

"Friendships are a fucking two way street, he could've done more too."

"I still can't believe he just left like that." Niall said, piping in. 

"But he did." Louis said, slumping his shoulders, his mug of tea clearly having gone cold.

"And we didn't." Harry nodded, "We're still here."

"Yeah mate, and we're about to shatter records." Louis smiled, "Let's show that twat exactly what he's missing out on."


	92. Chapter 92

Reagan paced. She paced around her room because her body felt restless, and her heart was racing, and dear god why did the boys have to do this to her now? Why did everything have to collide this way? She watched her clock upon her dresser slowly change numbers and knew that in a mere few minutes Louis was going to drop that single. The single she hadn't even heard yet. 

To top it all off, she hadn't even gotten a chance to talk to Harry after, well, after what had happened between them. She knew that everything was fine and that hey, maybe now they were going to be okay, but she was Reagan and Reagan was a worrier so she worried about everything that was obviously out of her hands.

"OH MY GOD!?"

Reagan jumped out of her seat upon hearing her little sister scream down the hall, making her run to Kennedy's room to check on her, "What's wrong!?"

Kennedy looked at her angrily, "First you don't tell me that Zayn signed with another label to go solo, and now you don't tell me the boys were going to drop a single today!?"

Reagan shrugged, "You know I can't talk about work."

"But I'm trustworthy now, aren't I? I thought we were past the whole Taylor Swift thing."

Reagan simply raised an eyebrow.

"Look, whatever." Kennedy puffed, "Just tell me what this means." She said, twirling her laptop around so that the bright screen was facing Reagan.

"What?" She asked.

"The name of the song? The lyrics? Are they talking about Zayn? Do they like...totally hate him?"

"You know they're not friendly." Reagan said, squinting at the screen. She grimaced at the title Drag Me Down knowing that the press was going to eat that up. 

"Obviously I know nothing." Kennedy mumbled. 

"Kennedy." Reagan warned.

"I mean, how did this song even get approved to be a single? Wouldn't they want to pretend he left on good terms? You listened to the lyrics didn't you?"

Reagan shrugged again and Kennedy's eyes widened, "You didn't know, did you!?"

"I knew..."

"Knew what?"

"Kenz, seriously, just drop it."

"Okay, I'll drop it." Kennedy smirked, "But..."

"But?"

"You have to spill about what happened last night."

Reagan blushed, "What do you mean?"

"Rae, you didn't come home until like...what...four hours ago?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play stupid, I know you didn't sleep here. You think you can sneak back in and change your clothes without me noticing?"

Reagan sighed, "I have work to do."

"That can wait."

Reagan pointed to Kennedy' computer screen, "It obviously can't."

"It's out of your hands anyway, God. Just tell me what happened!"

"Nothing-"

"Don't say nothing happened! You ran out of this house. You got into your car and drove to his house. He opened his door, saw you standing there, and took you into his arms-"

"No!"

"Then what!? Tell me!"

"I can't do this."

"What? Telling me?"

"Everything!" Reagan nearly shouted. "The boys are on a mission to drive me insane, Hailey is either going to ruin me or herself, and Harry...."

"Harry loves you?"

"Harry..." Reagan whispered, "Harry loves me."

"HE DOES!!" Kennedy shouted, jumping off of her bed and wrapping her arms around her, "He loves you! I knew it! He loves you!"

"Kenz, it's not that easy."

"Oh my God, Rae, you're being so dramatic." Kennedy replied, sitting back down upon her bed, and patting the spot beside her for Reagan to sit as well. 

"No, I'm really not."

"And what do you mean Hailey is going to ruin you?"

"I-"

"Does she have something on you? Come on, Rae, why can't you trust me?" Kennedy said, placing a hand in her sister's. She intertwined her fingers through Reagan's like she used to when she was younger.

Reagan shook her head, "I just-" She sighed loudly, tired of having the weight of all these things upon her chest. "Hailey has a tape of me."

Kennedy tilted her head, "Like...a sex tape? Did you pull a Kim Kardashian?"

"Okay, this conversation is done." Reagan said, getting up and untangling her hand from Kennedy's.

But Kennedy quickly pulls her back onto her bed and plops on top of her, "No! You're finally opening up. You're not going anywhere."

"This is not how adults have conversations." Reagan said from under Kennedy.

"If you would actually treat me like an adult, I wouldn't have to go to extreme measures to force you to talk to me." 

"Fine." Reagan huffed.

"I'm not moving." Kennedy retorted, "I'm not stupid. The moment I move you're just going to leave. We're going to have an adult conversation, just like this." 

"Whatever."

"She has a tape of you then? Doing what?"

"She has a security tape from a hotel, it shows Harry coming out of my room at like 6AM"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"And she's been blackmailing you?"

"Yeah."

"That bitch."

"Yep."

"Hmmm. Why didn't you just tell me?" 

"Because," Reagan started, "I knew you would just get yourself involved somehow."

"Like I am now?"

"No! If we have an adult conversation then you have to act like an adult regardless of what I tell you."

"Fine." Kennedy pouted, already thinking of how she was going to help Reagan get that tape back. "What happened with Harry?"

"We..." And then Reagan mumbled all the words she wanted to say incoherently hoping Kennedy would understand. 

She didn't.

"What?"

Reagan sighed, "We had a fight, but then we made up."

"Made up...how?"

"By...ahem...by doing a variation of hugging it out...I guess."

Kennedy stayed quiet as she put two and two together, only to scream,"YOU SLEPT TOGETHER!?"

"Okay, yep, this was it. This is my limit with you." Reagan replied, calmly trying to get out from under her sister.

"No! You have to tell me everything! You slept with him, right!? That's why you stayed out all night!? It wasn't just you two falling asleep together!? You actually had sex, right!?" Kennedy fell off the bed, not even caring about the fact, all too excited about the new developments in Reagan's love life. 

"Goodnight, Kennedy."

"No! You can't just walk out like this! I need details!"

"It's past midnight, go to bed."

"No! Rae-"

Reagan smiled to herself as she closed the door behind her, her spirits at least a tad more lifted. But then, the weight of the world once more was felt on her shoulders when she realized the amount of work she had ahead of her thanks to Louis and his impromptu single drop.

She trudged back to her room, rubbing her temples, and shook her head as she turned on her laptop once more. It was the vibration of her phone and the message that lit up her screen thought that got her heart racing and made her forget the whole mess before her.

Sorry for the mess. come over and ill keep you company while you pick up the pieces ;-)

Did you seriously just use an old school smiley face? Just use an emoji.

are you just going to ignore my obvious attempt to flirt with you?

It's past midnight.

pick you up in fifteen then. bring a change of clothes, ill leave the coffee brewing.

If this was the way her life was going to look like now, maybe there was some beauty in the utter chaos. It sure looked like it was going to be one hell of a ride from now on.


	93. Chapter 93

Before Kennedy could even make a sound, Reagan quickly quieted her, "Don't." She warned as she was about to open the door.

Kennedy simply gave a smirk and flipped her hair, "What? I wasn't going to say anything."

Reagan frowned, knowing that the moment she opened that door Kennedy was going to unleash an abundance of questions towards Harry, but honestly what could she do? In comparison to her parents, Kennedy was going to be the least of her worries. 

"Hello, hello." Harry spoke, walking in the house. He gave a smiling nod in Kennedy's direction and couldn't quite make eye contact with Reagan. So much for that not being weird. 

"Harry." Kennedy said, walking toward him and brazenly taking him into a hug, "Not that I don't love having one fourth of One Direction in my house, but what are you doing here at one AM?"

Harry chuckled, "I'm going to have to take your sister, you think you can handle being alone for the rest of the night?"

"Not that I mind," She said smilingly towards Reagan, "But what exactly do you need her for that couldn't wait until morning?"

"I'm sure you saw we dropped the single?"

"The one about Zayn?"

"Nice try." He said wagging a finger at her, "But you know the slew of comments it's already receiving and we need your sister to do her job and run some interference."

"So you really like football?" Kennedy asked, referring to his Green Bay Packers pajama bottoms that he hadn't bothered to change out of, and of course the obvious football reference. Reagan rolled her eyes.

"Packers for life." He said, bumping his chest.

Kennedy laughed loudly while Reagan sighed. 

"No, but seriously. Rae is a critical part of the team. You see, she's like the linebacker."

"This only gets better." Kennedy said under her breath.

"Shut up." Reagan said, nudging her. She turned to Harry, "If you're done with the football analogy why don't we get going so that I don't have to actually tackle any of your irresponsible asses."

"I think he'd enjoy that." Kennedy said pointedly.

Both Harry and Reagan flushed, which was so incredibly uncharacteristic of Harry. But then, Reagan brought out all of the awkwardness in him. 

"Wow, I was just making a joke. Did I miss something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Could it have possibly been something that happened last night? You know? Because Reagan didn't come home last night. I thought maybe she put in some overtime at work."

"Alright, it's time to go." Reagan said, quickly gathering her laptop and purse, "Go to bed. Mom and dad are coming back tomorrow night, I should be back tomorrow afternoon."

"So you're staying over at his house all night?"

Harry quickly interjected, "It's a work thing, Kennedy. The boys are all there."

"Then can I come?"

"No!" Reagan quickly said, seeing as Harry was about to give in.

"Fine. Have fun." She pouted.

"We'll take you out for breakfast, how's that?" Harry quickly offered.

"Louis too?" Kennedy asked, being incredibly obvious.

Harry tried not to laugh, "All of us, Kenz."

"Fine, I guess." She ushered them out the door, "Be safe." She said with a smirk before she slammed the door behind them.

As they stood on the stoop of the house, Harry turned to look at Reagan and asked, "She knows, doesn't she?"

"Doesn't she always?"

Harry smiled, "How much does she know?" He wrapped an arm around Reagan's waist, taking her in fully for the first time in about twenty-four hours. 

Reagan smirked, "I didn't say anything, she figured it out on her own, per usual." She could feel the warmth of Harry's hand radiating through her shirt onto her back, "And what's this about this being a work thing?"

"What, you thought it was something else?" He asked, almost laughingly.

"It's almost one AM."

"Oh, so you thought this was a booty call. My goodness, Reagan Bailey. And I never would have pegged you for the type that went for that."

Reagan punched him on the arm, hard, making him gasp, "Let's go."

"You really did think it was, didn't you." He rubbed his arm while walking about three steps behind her, "If you want we can go to a hotel. The boys won't miss us."

"Too late, I changed my mind." She shrugged, getting into the car.

"Wait. You really...we could have?"

"Too late." She repeated, trying to hold in her laughter. 

Harry struggled to get into the car, but when he did he simply stared at her. Studied her in his own quirky way.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you still staring at me?"

He turned to face her completely, "You want me to be honest?"

"Oh, god. What now?"

"Why do you always assume the worst?"

"Because it's you."

Harry rolled his eyes, a slight smile still playing upon his lips, "Rae?"

"What?"

"I quite fancy you."

She blushed, but snarkily replied, "No way."

"Yes way."

"What? Really? I never would have guessed."

"I know it comes as a shock," He paused for a moment, just for added effect before continuing, "But I have one question for you."

"Yes?"

"You and I...we make a great team don't we?"

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Are you saying yes?"

"That depends on whether you're asking or not."

Harry chuckled, placing a hand upon Reagan's, "Reagan Bailey, will you be my girlfriend?"

"You're so old-fashioned."

"I like doing things right."

"Alright, grandpa."

"I still don't hear an answer."Reagan mumbled something incoherently, making Harry ask, "What was that, darling?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Yes, I'll be your...girlfriend."

"Good." He put the key in the ignition and turned on the car.

"Good? That's it?"

"Would you like a party?"

"I'd like something, considering I have to put up with you."

"Open the glove compartment."

Reagan turned to look at him, "Oh no, I didn't actually...."

"Too late."

Hesitantly she opened the glove compartment to find a small box. She grasped it, looking at it tentatively, "You really shouldn't have, Harry. I know we...well we slept together, but really all of this isn't necessary."

"What, do you think I'm giving you this because we had sex?"

"I..."

"I'm giving you this because I love you, Reagan. Because after all that's happened, we're finally going to get to be together, and I want to show you how much you mean to me. Especially because of the fact that you have to put up with me." He added with a smile.

Reagan felt her throat close up, and cursed herself for being such a sap. 

"Are you not going to open it?"

"Give me a sec."

"Are you tearing up?" 

"No."

"Yes you are!"

"Is this really how you want to start our relationship?"

"I think it technically happened before this."

Reagan couldn't help but think back to all the messes they'd gotten into until that very moment, and knew without a doubt that he was right.

"Come on Rae, open it already."

"Fine."

She undid the messily tied string around the box and shook her head when she saw what was within it, "A Hello Kitty ring?"

It was subtle, nothing too sparkly or obnoxious. But right there on the band was a silver Hello Kitty that made Reagan smile from ear to ear. 

"Would you prefer the band aids instead?"

"No, this will do." She said, fighting tears and slipping the ring onto her right hand. She had questioned their relationship from the moment they had met, everything that had led up to this moment. All of her insecurities, her fears, her utter disdain for herself had begun to waiver. They weren't gone, perhaps they'd never be, but she has begun to feel bigger than them. She was finally coming into her own, and who better to do that with than with Harry.

"Good, let's go see what the boys are up to then."

As they finally drove down the driveway and out the gate, Reagan couldn't help but say, "Thank you...for everything."

"It was nothing."

"No, Harry. It's been a lot, not just the ring."

"Ah, the band aids too, then."

"Those too."

"And me being a pain the arse since we met?"

"Especially that."

"Well, don't thank me yet. We still have quite a road ahead of us, don't we?"

"That we do. No thanks to you boys."

"Hey, I thought this single was doing pretty well."

"I didn't say it wasn't."

"Then?"

"Hey, I can't just condone you all doing as you please."

"Even if it's justified?"

"No comment."

"You liked it, didn't you? Just admit it."

"The boys are at your house right?" Expertly avoiding the question since she had not heard the song yet. She knew Harry and she knew he would only be incredibly disappointed and equally as annoying until she listened to it. 

"Yes."

"Good. It's going to take all of us to fix this mess."

"It's not even that bad."

"Just wait a few hours."

"Or until we go public."

And suddenly all those pleasant feelings dissipated, and to the surface returned the wrenching anxiety. She had to tell him about Hailey, she had to. But would he even understand? Harry just couldn't see the bad in people, and as noble and beautiful as that may seem, that admirable quality was really fucking them over. 

"Fuck." Reagan muttered under her breath.

"It should be fine, shouldn't it? Doesn't it all work out in the end?"

"Yeah." She answered hesitantly. Because she sure hoped so, she really did.


	94. Chapter 94

As the boys sat around Harry's living room waiting for him to get back, they watched their single climb up the iTunes chart. To say they were proud was an understatement, considering they had no idea how this would go. 

"Wow." Liam said, lying back onto the couch and putting his feet up on the table before him, "Who would've thought."

"What do you mean who would've thought? Did you doubt me from the start, Payno?" Louis said, fiddling with his phone, trying to turn it off. It wouldn't stop ringing, and there was no other way to actually stop it. He didn't want Lydia to ruin this night for him, not yet anyway. 

Liam shrugged, "You don't always come up with the best plan of action, mate."

"Then why did you go along with it, then?"

"I had nothing better to do." Liam smirked.

Louis responded by throwing a pillow squarely at Liam's head, and completely missing. Instead it knocked Niall in the side of the face and bumped his plate of food off his lap.

"What the fuck!?" Niall said, wiping crumbs off his lap and looking sadly at the now scattered sandwich and chips upon the floor. 

"It's like one in the fucking morning, why are you eating in the first place?" Louis muttered, "And clean up that mess before Harry gets back, you know he doesn't like his home to look lived in."

"What, really?" Liam asked.

"Have you looked around, does it even look like someone lives here?"

Liam looked all around the spacious living room, and found that Louis was right. A lot of the things still looked new, some were even still in their original packaging. "Huh."

"You know what's strange though?" Niall quipped as he picked up the mess on the floor, "Lydia hasn't rang yet."

"Yeah," Liam added, "You would think our phones would be ringing off the hook."

"Yeah..." Louis said, a little too suspiciously.

"Your phone hasn't rang, mate? Not even once?"

But before he could answer, Harry and Reagan walked in the front door. Louis quietly sighed, grateful for the perfectly timed interruption.

"Just who we needed." Louis said as Reagan walked into the living room. 

"Really? Because the lot of you didn't say that when you started planning this mess."

"Hey now, we didn't want you to get in trouble, Reagan."

"Do you know in how much trouble we're all in now? As if Lydia wasn't mad enough at Harry's latest stunt."

"You mean becoming your boyfriend?" Louis asked, a smirk upon his unshaven face.

"I-I"

"So it's really official now?" Niall asked, "Like seriously this time? You all aren't fucking around with us, right?"

"Just look at her hand, it's the ring Harry picked out last week, the one you were making fun of when he was buying it." Liam said.

"Oh, so it was for Reagan. I thought it was for him. You know how fucking weird he is."

"I can hear you." Harry warned from the kitchen. 

"Sorry." Niall mumbled, knowing that he shouldn't make fun of the hand that feeds him.

"So, it for real this time? Please, for the love of God say yes. I can't stand him mooning around like a twelve year old because you won't acknowledge him."

"Yes." Reagan muttered.

"You're rather unenthusiastic." Louis quipped.

"She's dating Harry." Liam said with a chuckled.

"I can still hear you."

"Good! I meant for you to hear me." Liam shouted back. 

"Can we just get to work?"

"Don't avoid the subject, Reagan. It's not becoming." Louis said, patting the cushion next to him for her to sit down. Reluctantly she slid her bag off her shoulder and sat down next to him. 

"Wait, so Harry really did just leave Hailey high and dry for you? And Lydia said nothing?" Liam asked.

"She doesn't know." Louis said.

"She doesn't know!?"

"Lydia thinks Harry was just being Harry and wanted his own bloody way, as always."

"So she has no idea-"

"None."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, you can say that again." Reagan said, rolling her eyes.

"So on top of the fact that Harry totally back out of the stunt..." Liam contemplated.

"Now we've gone and dropped a single." Louis said, finishing Liam's sentence. 

"You think she knows by now?" Niall asked.

"She would've called." Liam said, looking directly at Louis.

"But she hasn't." Louis added, throwing in a nonchalant shrug. 

"That doesn't make any sense though." Reagan said, checking her own phone, "She has Google Alerts set up especially for when you guys fuck up this big."

"Hey!" Niall said as he got up to join Harry in the kitchen, "We resent that."

"Then don't fuck up as often." 

"Wait, if she knows....then....why hasn't she called." Niall turns to look at the front door and yells, "We shouldn't have all come to one house! What if she comes here to murder us!?"

"Shut up, you're being irrational." Louis quickly said, even though he as well turned to look wearily at the front door. 

"But really, she still hasn't called?" Reagan asked. 

Louis looked away, and stared at the computer screen, making both Liam and Reagan very aware of the fact that he was obviously hiding something. 

"Louis." Reagan said, "Did she call you."

"My phone is off."

"It wasn't fifteen minutes ago." Liam said with a furrowed brow.

"Turn it on." Reagan demanded. 

"No."

"Turn it on, Lou." 

"No, it died."

"It did not." 

"Yes it did."

Reagan turned toward the kitchen, "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a phone charger?"

"For the six?"

"Yeah."

"In the bedroom."

Reagan got up from her seat and Louis smirked, "Oh so you know your way to the bedroom, do you."

"Fuck off. Once I get the charger you're turning your phone on."

"There's no need." He said, reluctantly taking his phone out and turning it back on. "It has battery."

"What the hell then, Louis. Just let us see if she called you then."

"She did! But I didn't want to ruin the night, okay. It's a big night for us, why ruin it with Lydia screaming and cursing us?"

"Louis!"

"Reagan, please. Just one night. I want to savor this for one night before morning comes and we're all screwed."

Reagan shook her head, but relented, "Fine."

Liam chuckled, "Number one in 15 countries, boys."

"Pop the champagne!" Louis called to Harry and Niall.

"I actually have work to do." Reagan reminded him. 

"Are you kidding? If you actually start doing some damage control, Lydia will know you were involved."

"Then why the hell am I here!?" 

"To celebrate!" Harry said with a large smile as he walked into the room with two champagne bottles and five glasses. 

"Oh, god."

"Live it up, Bailey. Tomorrow we many not be alive to bask in the glory of our accomplishments." Harry whispered into her ear as he placed the glasses on the table before her. 

"To us!" He said, picking up the bottle and obnoxiously popping it. The boys laughed and cheered, pouring the gold liquid into glasses and passing them around to each other. 

"To us." Harry said, coming up next to Reagan, handing her a glass, and tipping his own towards her. 

"To us." She said, a smile finally playing upon her own lips. 

"To the greatest team the world has ever bloody seen!" Louis said, emptying his glass in one swig. 

"Hopefully this will all be worth it in the morning." Reagan said, taking a sip from her own glass. 

"Oh it will be." Louis assured her, "It will be."


	95. Chapter 95

"Reagan! Reagan!"

There was a flurry of noises around her, but all she could feel was the pounding headache that was overtaking what felt like her entire body. The night before had been one for the books, that was for sure. She didn't remember how much she had drunk, but she was pretty sure it was far more than she ever had. To be honest, the last few months had been rather trying, and considering she had made it this far without getting drunk, had to be an accomplishment. At least, that was what she thought as she kept trying to reason why she had let herself get this wasted the night before what was surely going to be one of the busiest days of the year, thanks to Louis. 

"Wake up, Reagan!"

She looked through squinted eyes at Niall, pulling at her arm and attempting to get her up off of the couch. He grunted, his own body heavy from his hangover. But considering this was nothing new to him, he looked rather good for having drunk an entire bottle of Jameson by himself. Drinking ran in his blood, but unfortunately that wasn't the case for Reagan. 

"What is it?" She said, her voice strained from the sheer dryness of her throat.

"Lydia! She's here!" He said in a forced whisper, "We need to hide you upstairs."

"Oh, god." She said, already wanting to throw up. She forgot all the reasons she was making up for herself to explain letting her guard down and immediately regretted letting the boys get her drunk last night the moment she sat up from the now sticky couch. This was a bad call on her part, no denying it. She looked around her to see empty bottles, chip bags, and glasses everywhere. Harry's home now looked like a frat house, but then, it was better than not looking lived in.

"Come on!"

She almost fell off the couch in her hurry, but managed to make it up the stairs with Niall's help. She went into the master bedroom and tried to lock herself in the bathroom, but couldn't figure out how to work the stupid door handle. Of course her hangover had to impair her to that extent. She finally just gave up on locking the door. There was no way Lydia would hear her anyway.

What was she doing with her life though? How did she get to this point? This was never in any of her meticulous plans. How could one boy....or rather one boy band...turn her life upside down?

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and jumped. It took her a few seconds to get a hold of herself and actually take it out, but of course it was Lydia. Reagan quickly cleared her throat, prayed to God she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire, and pressed answer, "Hello?"

"Reagan? We have a 911." Lydia's voice sounded urgent, pressed. Lately it seemed that was the only tone she had around the boys. 

"What?"

"Oh god, I know it's about six AM, but I need you to head to the office right now. The boys did something reckless, once again. I'm heading to Harry's to wring their necks as we speak."

"What did they do?" Reagan asked, playing stupid.

"They released a single, without getting it approved by anyone."

"How is that even possible."

"Where there's a hard headed idiot with a vendetta and millions, there's a way." She said spitefully. "I'll see you in the office, if I don't get arrested first."

Reagan shook her head, those boys were certainly out to give every single person on their team a heart attack. Starting of course with her.

She sat on the edge of the bathtub and tried to will her hangover away, but it just wasn't happening. All she wanted was to go back to sleep. And god knows sleep was not going to be given for the next few days, thanks to the boys. 

—✴—

"I told you she was going to come here! She came to fucking murder us!" Niall yelled as he ran down the stairs. 

"Shut the bloody hell up." Louis said, rubbing his temples, "No one is in the mood, Niall."

"Did you leave her upstairs?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, she doesn't look too great."

"And we do?" Louis snapped. 

"At least we're awake." Harry said, pointedly looking at Liam who was still passed out upon the floor. It had certainly been a hell of a night. 

"We have to let her in, don't we?" Niall asked, almost in a panic. 

"What can she really do to us? We're leaving in a couple of days for the next leg of the tour, we're basically untouchable." Louis muttered, trying to make a cup of coffee.

"You really thought this out." Harry said, looking at Louis up and down and still a bit surprised at his thorough planning. 

"You all sound so shocked." Louis said, a bit begrudgingly.

Niall looked out the kitchen window, "Shouldn't we be opening the door now? She's only going to get angrier the longer she has to wait out there."

"Can't we pretend we're not home, it's like the ass crack of dawn for christ's sake." Louis said, shaking his head. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, "Oh for fuck's sake." He said, looking at the caller ID and seeing Lydia's name, "She won't let up."

"Well no shit. All of our cars are parked out there." Harry said, getting up to open the door.

"Why would she only call you?" Niall asked Louis.

"She knows." Louis responded.

"Knows what?"

"Knows this whole mess was his doing." Harry said with a smirk. 

"I could've easily been the mastermind." Niall said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Right." Louis muttered, taking a sip from his mug. "Harold, please, just open the door and let her in. I'm about ready to get this over with."

Harry shrugged and did as asked. It only took all of three seconds before Lydia was right there before them, an incredible scowl upon her face. 

"Good morning, Lydia. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?" Louis asked.

Lydia stared him down, "You know very well I'm not here for tea and crumpets."

"I'm more of a biscuit man myself."

"Louis!" Harry chided, watching the color of Lydia's face turn from fair, to red, to now almost a purplish color. She was at the end of her rope with them, no doubt.

"After all that I've done for the lot of you, and this is how you repay me!? Do you know the mess you're in!? I have executives ringing my phone non-stop! Simon Cowell is through the roof! You weren't supposed to release that single until August! What makes you think you had the liberty to do as you please!?"

"I-" Louis began, surely with a smart remark, but Lydia stopped him.

"No! Enough! The lot of you need to understand that actions have repercussions! I'm sick and tired of going to bed just waiting for one of you to mess up so I can clean up the pieces! I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen in the first place, but what good am I IF YOU DON'T LISTEN!?"

At that everyone turned to face the living room where a loud plop was heard. It was of course Liam, who had been awoken by Lydia's tirade. He had fallen off the couch onto the floor, and was now in a daze trying to put together what had happened.

"And to top it all off you've all gotten drunk? Typical! The entire team slaves away to make sure you bunch of overgrown children look good, and what do we get repaid with?"

"401k?" Louis responded, a large smirk plastered upon his face.

"That's it. I don't want to see any of you ever again." Lydia said, turning towards the door once more.

"That's awfully hard considering you work for us." Louis yelled after her.

Harry shook his head, knowing this was not going to end well.

"Keep pushing me and I'll quit." Lydia said over her shoulder, "God knows no one else is going to put up with you."

"You'd leave us?"

"And it would be the best day of my life." She said, her face brightening. "No more waking up in the middle of the night to check my email, no more idiots to reason with, oh god" She said, shaking her head, "I can't wait for the day you all finally decide to get your head out of your asses and make all of our jobs easier."

"But until then?" Louis asked.

"Until then you will surely keep pushing my buttons until I do something I've never done in my twenty years in this industry."

"What's that?"

"Murder my client."

She said it with such rage in her eyes that it made Louis shut up for once. He knew he had pushed her too far. And this coming right after Harry's stunt? He wasn't sure how she was going to handle everything else that was surely going to blow up in their faces. 

"Oh my god stop yelling." Liam murmured from the living room, "And make the room stop spinning. The room is spinning so fast, mates. Please make it stop."

Lydia sighed loudly and turned to face them before opening the door, "Get yourselves together and meet me in the office in an hour. We have work to do."

"Yes ma'm." Harry responded, saluting her and closing the door behind her. 

"Got away with it once again." Louis said smugly. Niall leaned over the corner to high five him.

"Something tells me our luck is going to run out soon." Harry said, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Look, she knows she can't be mad at us. What is she going to do, un-drop the single? Besides it's number one in 27 fucking countries mate! Without any of their help! That's why they're so bloody pissed, because those fucking idiots are scared that we're realizing we can manage our own careers without them."

"It could've gone wrong, Lou. You know that. She's there to ensure that wouldn't happen."

"But it didn't. She should be happy! She didn't have to do any work."

"That's not how it works."

"Look, whatever. What's done is done. Now go get your girlfriend, she's probably puking in the bathroom."

Harry rolled his eyes, but went up the steps to the master bedroom anyway. And then it hit him, girlfriend, Reagan was his girlfriend. He smiled like an idiot from ear to ear and went along his way. She was his girlfriend now, and he was pretty sure nothing could top the way he felt right at that moment. Nothing. 

"Out of my way, mate." Liam said, running up the steps. He pushed past Harry and ran into the master bedroom, nearly knocking down the bathroom door. 

"Liam no! Reagan's in there!" Harry yelled, running after him. 

But by the time Harry reached him, Liam was already retching into the toilet. He looked around for Reagan, surprised that she wasn't in there. She hadn't been in the room either though. But that's when he saw something pink sticking out from behind the shower curtain. 

As he came closer he realized it had been Reagan's sock, and that she had passed out in the bathtub. Harry laughed to himself as he looked at Reagan, looking simply ethereal even though her hair was a mess, there was a bit of drool on the side of her mouth, and her clothes were slightly askew. God, he loved her. There was no doubt. 

Now, if only Liam hadn't been throwing up and swearing in the background, perhaps it would have been one of those perfect little moments Harry would've kept with him forever. He wished he could just mute Liam and watch Reagan forever. But alas, they all had work to do, and unfortunately it was time to awaken his hungover sleeping beauty. 

"No, Hail- No." Reagan murmured in her sleep.

It made Harry stop in his tracks. She sounded almost panicked. 

"Hailey, please"

"Please what?" Harry asked quietly, hoping she would respond. Instead what he received was a sigh from a heaving Liam. 

Reagan groaned in her fitful sleep, "Don't. Hail, don't."

"Don't what?" Harry tried again, hoping it would be like in the movies where she would reveal some kind of vital information in her sleep. Perhaps it wasn't the case and he was making something out of nothing, but the pit that was forming in the bottom of his stomach told him other wise. 

"Hailey." Reagan said clearly. 

And it made him wonder why Reagan was saying Hailey's name. Could it have been something that happened between them? Was she subconsciously saying something to him?

"I want to die." Liam said as he pulled himself away from the toilet and slumped against a tile wall, making Harry have to pull himself away from Reagan's side to call for Niall and Louis to help.

But all the while he couldn't help wondering if there was more to Reagan's talk in her sleep. He hoped there wasn't, but something just would not let him put it to rest. Looking at her though, he knew it he would have to wait a while to be able to approach her about it. For now, he'd go brew some coffee and make sure she was okay to go in to work. Because that's what a boyfriend did for his girlfriend. At least, that's what he thought to himself as he smugly got her out of the tub and placed her gently upon his bed, all too happily. 

"Reagan, you need to wake up now. You have to go to work."

"No."

She was still in a daze, but not completely unconscious. She still had the capacity to realize that Harry had just carried her from the tub to the bed, without a grunt. Could it really be that she didn't weigh that much? Sometimes she really believed she just go into her own head too much. 

"Reagan." He pleaded, climbing upon the bed next to her, "Love, you need to get yourself together."

"Help me up then." She said, sleepily extending a hand toward him. 

As he was about to pull her up, she pulled him down with all her strength, making him plop down on top of her.

"Reagan Bailey" He said, chuckling to himself as she smiled slyly through half-shut eyes. 

"Oy!" Louis said coming into the room, "We have work to do. It's nice you two finally got your shit together, but no one here wants to watch you two fuck."

Harry whipped a pillow at him, hitting Louis squarely in the chest.

"Hey! We have work to do, that single isn't promoting itself!"

"You're right, for once." Harry said, "But that means you have to get up." He said to Reagan, kissing her on the forehead and making her sit up on the bed, "You think you can get it together in time to get to the office."

She nodded wearily, "We have a job to do."

"There we go, that's the spirit!" Louis said, eyeing Liam and knowing that it was take much more than a pep talk to get him moving. But one step at a time, that's what seemed to be working for all of them anyway.

"Let's get to work then." Reagan said wearily, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, "It's going to be another long day."


	96. Chapter 96

So it was a flurry of tweets, Facebook posts, and monitoring of the iTunes chart, but the day was finally coming to a close for Reagan as she sat back in her chair and closed her laptop. The boys had left ages ago, far too hungover to even function. But they had tried their best and managed to run their own Twitter accounts without a hitch, for once. 

Now it was just Reagan and Lydia alone, wrapping everything up until the next day. Lydia watched Reagan through the open door to her office, wondering how to approach her about having to go on tour with the boys again. She honestly believed that Reagan had taken on too much of a burden, what with One Direction being her first real clients and all. But she had put on a brave face and actually seemed to connect more with the boys than she ever had. That made her uneasy, but she trusted Reagan. Trusted her judgment. And that's why she was entrusting her with the task of the boys' Civic Honda Tour PR. It was a huge campaign, and after what Lydia had to deal with with the Drag Me Down debacle, she wasn't up to the task. She still had to schedule promotional interviews, set up their music video shooting, and not to mention begin contacting radio stations at once. So to give Reagan this PR campaign would be both a huge weight off her shoulders and a massive learning experience for her blossoming PR agent. 

"Reagan?" Lydia called from her office. 

"Yes?"

"Can you come in here?"

Reagan appeared at once in the doorway, giving a slight sleepy smile.

"I'm impressed."

"With what?" Reagan asked.

"Well, you did an amazing job, considering you were in the same condition as the boys."

"What-"

"Oh, save it, Reagan. I know you were there with the boys last night. You all are good mates and such."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad. You all deserved to celebrate."

"Are you just saying that because the single did so well?"

"Well if it hadn't you probably would be out of a job."

Reagan's facial expression dropped so fast that Lydia had to hold back a laugh, "I'm joking, Reagan. I know you all are the same age and that the boys have take a liking to you. That's not a bad thing. In fact, I think it'll help us for this next project."

Reagan looked dumbfounded, was this the same woman who told her not to hang around Harry not too long ago?

"Now." Lydia began, "We've been recruited as the Honda Civic Tour artists of the summer."

"Wow." Reagan mumbled, she knew that the team had been aiming for that spot for months. But boybands had never been chosen, ever. So for the boys to get this slot it was truly a huge honor.

"Wow, indeed. But this means we have many, many more promos to do this concert season than before. I've added an extra Good Morning America slot to talk about Drag Me Down, a flurry of guest appearances on shows here in the US, Europe, and South America, and," Lydia paused, smiling a little too happily, "besides all that the boys will be recording two commercials for Honda."

"That's amazing."

"Two commercials and a campaign that you will be in charge of."

"What!?" Reagan exclaimed, much to surprised to remember that she was standing before her boss.

"That's right, Reagan Bailey. This is your first official welcome into the world of PR. You will officially be the head of the boys' Civic Tour campaign."

"That's an awful lot of responsibility, Lydia. Don't you think-"

"Would you like me to rethink it? Would you rather I put someone else in your position. I'm sure they'd be happy to take-"

"No, no! I'll do it. I've got it. I can do it."

"That's what I like to hear. You'll be flying out to Chicago in three days."

"Chicago? Aren't the boys going to be in Canada?"

"After their three days in Canada their home base for the Midwest will now be Chicago. Honda has specificaly requested it and will be taking care of all your accommodations."

"Huh."

"Great, isn't it?"

"It's amazing! Have you told the boys?"

"I have not." Lydia said in a stern voice.

"You're still mad at them, aren't you."

"That's an understatement, dear."

"Mostly, Louis?"

"Both him and Harry."

"Understandably."

"Well, at least I have you as a double agent."

"Wh-What?"

"Considering that the boys have taken you in as their own, you can now inform me when they're about to pull one of their stupid stunts."

"I can't stop them, I don't have that much power."

"No, but at least I'll have the upper hand and can avoid a mess like today's. You didn't know about the single drop before last night did you?"

"No, ma'm." Reagan lied through her teeth.

"I'll let this one slide, but from now on we have to be a team. It's in their best interest."

"I understand." Reagan nodded, because ultimately Lydia was right. Being the tattle tale sucked, but in some cases it would be better for Lydia to know what was up. Perhaps not in the case of her and Harry dating, or Louis being a father, but she just had to pick her battles. Ultimately she knew where her loyalties laid, and unfortunately those loyalties may begin to hinder her career. 

"Good, now I suggest you go home and get some sleep so you're ready for tomorrow morning."

"What's tomorrow morning?"

"You'll be talking strategies with Honda's PR department."

"Oh." Reagan gulped, "On my own?"

"Reagan, this is your project now. You don't have to run anything by me. Believe me, my own plate is full enough." Lydia paused and added, "But I will be watching you, don't think I won't be."

"Yes ma'm."

"You're dismissed, go get some sleep."

"Goodnight." Reagan said, before slipping out the door. She quickly grabbed her bag and laptop, and rushed out the door of the studio. She was smiling like an idiot, even though the boys were obviously on a mission to make her job as hard as it possibly could be, the months of hard work had paid off. She was nervous, there was no doubt, as a pit of anxiety began to form in her stomach. But she was excited...until she wasn't.

Back again was that doubt, she wondered if she had truly deserved this position. If she had actually proven herself worthy of it. Or if once again it was her father's doing. She wanted to run back in and ask Lydia if she had ever been in contact with him, just to rid her of her doubt. But she knew that wouldn't do her any good. 

Maybe she was just being ridiculous, and she needed to keep believing in herself. She had been doing so well after all. She stopped thinking about her weight, stopped hearing the ugly voices inside her head. It's been a good couple of weeks. Even the whole Hailey thing didn't send her into a mental breakdown. Had it been her ten years ago, she would without a doubt have been broken by Hailey's harsh words. Hell, had it been three months ago she probably would've crawled into her bed with a pint of ice cream and would have never come out. But she's here now. She's the head of a project, she's actually, really, dating Harry Styles, and she has friends. For the first time in a long time she isn't alone. And perhaps that, above all else, is what's helping her reach her full potential.


	97. Chapter 97

Kennedy, being ever the overprotective little sister, had miraculously forgotten Harry's promise of taking her to breakfast with the boys. Why? Well, she had other things to worry about.

Much like Reagan, Kennedy had spent her day attempting to fix a problem. Since she was left to her own devices again, and after carrying on a conversation with Hailey for the past few days since her breakdown, Kennedy decided that it was time to meet with her. It's not like it would be hard, as long as she wasn't papped. She definitely didn't want Reagan knowing she was going behind her back.

Okay, so she kind of felt bad for Hailey. They had spent hours texting back and forth and Hailey ended up telling her a lot about her childhood. So she gets it, she knows why Hailey is so incredibly rude and mean. Growing up looking not so pretty and wanting to be a star made her vulnerable. So Hailey is considered beautiful now by Hollywood's standards, but at what cost? She grew up to be an incredibly mean and judgmental person. Why? Because that's the environment she grew up in, the one she became accustomed to. She wasn't allowed to be herself, so Kennedy understood that in seeing Reagan, be Reagan, and still get the boy, made Hailey basically go insane. But Kennedy was sure she could fix it. She naively believed that all Hailey needed was one friend that could tell it to her like it is. So she decided to sacrifice herself, and began to gain Hailey's trust in her time of need. 

After closing the gate, Kennedy made her way to the end of her street where Hailey was diligently waiting in a small car. She looked like a complete mess as opposed to the girl she had met at the concert. Her hair was up in a messy bun, she was wearing jeans and what looked like an unwashed t-shirt. Kennedy believed right then and there that the girl was certainly in no condition to be exacting revenge against anyone. 

"Hey." Kennedy said, getting into the front seat. She leaned over to take Hailey into a weird half-assed hug, and found by the clean, soapy smell, that Hailey had at least had the strength to shower before coming. 

"Hi." Hailey mumbled.

"How are you feeling?"

"The same as before." She said, dramatically hitting her head against the steering wheel.

"You have to snap out of this, you're being ridiculous."

"You're like fifteen, you have no right to judge."

"I'm eighteen." Kennedy muttered. 

"Whatever. My life is basically over."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is. I was dumped for someone that looks like your sister for christ's sake. What the fuck is wrong with me!?" She almost started crying again, but somehow managed to keep it in. 

"You know," Kennedy tried hesitantly, "People like Harry don't care about the what the outside looks like-"

"Don't give me that crap! Are you saying I'm ugly on the inside? Is that why?"

"No, god. It's just that, not everything is about looks Hailey."

"Yes it is!"

"This conversation is just going to keep going in circles." Kennedy said, shaking her head sympathetically. She had been trying to convince Hailey that looks weren't everything, but obviously that wasn't working.

"Are they really together?" Hailey finally asked, sniffling pathetically.

"No. Not officially." Kennedy lied through her teeth.

"What does that mean? Does that mean they're planning to be together?"

"I honestly don't know."

"She's your sister, how do you not know?" Hailey said snarkily.

"She doesn't tell me everything."

"And even if she did you wouldn't tell me anyway. Everyone is fucking Team Reagan."

"Team Reagan?"

"Haven't you been on the blogs online?" Girls are raving about her."

"What? Really?" Kennedy said, honestly not knowing. She knew that to some extent Reagan was semi-relevant but she thought things had died down after everything that had happened since those pictures of Reagan and Harry had made their rounds. Then again there were always the few that were always conspiring among each other and totally knew what was up. Those had to be the fans that were smitten with Reagan or that shipped her and Harry. But a whole team devoted to Reagan? That was new. She wondered if they were pitting her against Hailey. 

"Ever since she got photographed with Harry. She has a small cult following."

"I thought it died down."

"Yeah, it was supposed to..." Hailey said, leaving it understood that everything was supposed to die down after she had been introduced as Harry's girlfriend. 

"Hailey you need to snap out of this. You're Hailey fucking Stone, why are you getting so bent out of shape over a guy."

Hailey didn't answer her, but deep down she knew she was right. She knew it wasn't Harry's fault. 

"You have an album to record, you have stuff to do! You have to move on."

Hailey did need to move on. But the only way she figured she could ever do that was by exacting her revenge on the person who had caused all this pain, "I do have to move on."

"Yes. You do."

Hailey said nothing else, which made Kennedy incredibly uneasy. Had she acutally managed to help Reagan? It felt like she hadn't. She sat back in her seat and sighed, she was pretty sure she had done the opposite of what she had planned. It seemed like Hailey was definitely now seeing a bullseye on Reagan's back. 

But all Kennedy had to do now was get the tapes. Or convince Hailey not to use them, somehow. But how could she even tell her not to use them if she wasn't supposed to know about them in the first place? She leaned back in her seat and could feel a headache coming on. She hated it when Reagan was right. Maybe she should've just left everything alone. 

She needed to call in reinforcements, so she quickly sent out a text before Hailey could see. 

I know why Reagan was acting so weird around Hailey. Meet me tomorrow at noon, we'll discuss strategies.

She could only hope that Louis had stopped acting so weird, after all he had told her to text him anytime. And she hadn't lately. Maybe it was okay now. Maybe he would finally come around.

ill pick you up before going to the studio

Her phone buzzed within seconds, making her hopeful. Perhaps Louis would never reciprocate the feelings she had for him, but she could tell that without a doubt he cared for her and her sister. And maybe, just maybe, that was enough to make up for the whole not liking her back thing. But right now the only thing that mattered was seeing to it that Reagan finally got the happy ending that she deserved. Hers would have to wait for the moment.


	98. Chapter 98

It was strange coming home and finding her mother in the kitchen making dinner. Her father had been so busy with his new deal, that she hadn't seen her parents in a while. They never used to leave her and Kennedy alone, but for some reason they trusted her now. This was already the second time they had left on an overnight trip in less than two months. Reagan figured it must have been a pretty big client if dad was meeting with them personally. 

"Reagan?" Her mother called from downstairs.

"Yeah."

"Can you help me set the table?"

Reagan got up from her chair, and made her way down to the kitchen. Dutifully setting each plate with their respective utensils. From across the room though, she could feel her mother's stare piercing her back.

"What?" She nearly sighed, without even bothering to turn around. 

"Oh no, nothing." Her mother muttered, placing a pot roast on a platter, "I was just wondering if Harry had come around while we were out of town."

Reagan stayed silent, she knew there was no point in denying it. Kennedy must have already told her mother everything that had happened the past few days, per usual.

"He did. He visited me and Kennedy."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Yeah."

"So..."

"So?" Reagan asked, scooping mashed potatoes into a large bowl to place on the table.

"Did anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

"No." She answered, a little too quickly.

"Really?"

"Mom," Reagan said, turning to look at her, "If you know what happened, just say so."

Her mother smiled widely and hugged Reagan tightly to her, "I knew he loved you."

"Mom, please." She said, trying to hide her smile.

"We both know that if your sister hadn't told me, I never would've of found out." Her mother chided.

"It's nothing that serious."

"Oh? That's not what Kennedy said. We should invite him over for dinner."

"Mom."

"We should, it's not a crime, Reagan. I want to get to know the boy."

"Boy?" Said a booming voice, that could of course only belong to Reagan's father.

"Yes, James. A boy." Her mother said snarkily. "A real living boy."

"It better not be that pop star I told you to stay away from." He said, obviously more interested in the food on the table than Reagan's answer. Which was actually good, she really didn't want to deal with her father at the moment.

"Honey, just sit down and eat." Reagan's mother said, already starting to quickly serve him, "It's your favorite." She looked at Reagan and asked, "Where's your sister? Is she upstairs?"

"She should be."

"Go get her, please."

Reagan nodded and did as she was told. She knew she was going to have to come up with an excuse as to why the boys didn't take Kennedy out for breakfast that morning, but figured that as long as Louis came next time it would be okay. As soon as she opened Kennedy's door though, she found that she wasn't there.

"Mom?" She called from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah?"

"I totally forgot to tell you that Kennedy was going out with some of her friends tonight." She said, obviously covering for Kennedy like Kennedy had done countless times for her. For now she hoped that she was okay, and not off causing havoc as she tended to do.

"Alright, I guess I'll just save her plate." Her mother responded. 

As she began to descend the stairs once more her parents began talking about their trip. She wasn't really conscious of the conversation until she heard her father say, "I have to fly back in a few days." Which was definitely weird since he really never traveled anymore for clients. Once or twice was rare, three times? It had to be a big deal. 

"They sure are keeping you busy, dear." Her mother said as she finally sat down to eat.

"Well, he just went solo. We have to make sure he get enough publicity to keep him relevant until his album drops next year."

"That's true."

"Not that he needs it. He's going to have enough to last him a lifetime after leaving the band like that." Her father said, taking a swig from his glass. 

"Wait." Reagan said, tilting her head slightly as she approached the table, "Is your new client Zayn Malik?"

"I thought I told you." 

"No, you didn't."

"Must have slipped my mind." He shrugged.

"Isn't that a coincidence though, Reagan?" Her mother asked, an amused look upon her face, "Your father working for Zayn and you working for One Direction?"

"Yeah, what a coincidence." Reagan said sarcastically. She knew her father hadn't forgotten to tell her, he just didn't trust her. Especially since she was so close to the boys. Not to mention the fact that Kennedy couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it.

"How is work?" He asked, grabbing more mashed potatoes.

"I got a promotion, kind of."

"Oh?" Her mother said excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm in charge of one of their ad campaigns. I'm actually going to be staying in Chicago for a while."

"That's amazing, baby!" Reagan's mother said, pinching her cheek across the table, "I'm so excited for you!"

"I hope this boy you all were talking about earlier isn't going to be a distraction then, considering you're finally coming up in the world." He said pointedly, "The last thing you need is a boyfriend when you need to focus on work."

"I don't think it'll be a problem, James." Her mother reassured him, considering Reagan's boyfriend was in fact 1/4 of her clientele. 

"That's what they all say."

Reagan sighed and pulled out her phone, sending Kennedy a message:

For the love of god, hurry home. I'm stuck at the table with mom and dad.

Unsurprisingly Kennedy didn't respond back. The little message bubble didn't even mark read. She really hoped that Kennedy wasn't out getting into trouble, she already had enough on her plate.

—✴—

Kennedy went up the steps tentatively. It didn't take much convincing to get Hailey to drop her off on a side street nowhere by her house, which worried her a tad, but the important thing was that she was here now. She buzzed the bell, knowing by the light that could be seen through the window that he had to be home. 

She stood at the door for about ten seconds before she heard it opening and found herself face to face with Louis Tomlinson, "Kennedy?"

"Hi."

"I thought I told you I'd pick you up tomorrow? How do you even know where I live?"

"Reagan has all of your addresses and phone numbers in a planner in her room."

"Little sisters are no joke." He said, a smirk setting upon his face, "Come in then, I'm sure we have plenty to discuss."

"Guess who just dropped me off?"

"Who?" He asked, leading her into his spacious living room and sitting in an arm chair.

Kennedy sat down in front of him on the plush sofa, "Hailey."

"You're playing a dangerous game, little one."

She blushed, "I can handle it." She quickly tried to recover and asked, "How are you?"

"Better." He smiled, running a hand through his messy hair, "Definitely better."

"I'm glad." She grinned back, "I lost you for a while there."

"Life gets crazy, you know? A lot's just going on. I'm glad you came here though, this house is too big to be alone in."

"Why would you buy it then?"

"It's a prime piece of property, and its value is through the roof."

"Still, wouldn't you rather have a home."

"Homes are overrated."

"Are all celebrities like this?"

He chuckled, "You didn't come here to badger me, did you?"

She shook her head, "No, I was just worried about Reagan and the whole Hailey thing."

"I know you want to help your sister, Kenz. But are we sure we can? I mean, Hailey's a bloody wreck isn't she. Is she even capable of doing anything?"

Kennedy grimaced. Hailey had actually seemed to be doing better after their conversation in the car earlier. She was even talking about going to the studio later that week, something she had seemingly given up on. 

"I don't know, she seems to be okay."

"Okay, but what is it that we're worried she's going to do?"

Kennedy sighed, "She has a DVD apparently. One of Harry leaving Reagan's room really, really early in the morning. It doesn't look good, you know? And if it went viral Reagan would lose her job, and then she would just get attacked online again, and, and-"

"Okay, slow down there, love. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." He leaned back in his chair, "How did she even manage to get that video?"

"She probably just fluttered her eyelashes at the guard. That's all it takes with Hailey Stone."

"You know what the only solution is." Louis said mischievously.

"What's that?"

"We have to get our hands on that video."

Kennedy nodded, "It's the only way."

"It's a good thing you've gotten so close to dear Hailey then, isn't it."

"Indeed. That whole "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" thing has never been more true than in this situation."

"We have to get that DVD."

"Don't worry." Kennedy assured him, "I think I have a plan."


	99. Chapter 99

By the end of the week Louis sat before the room with a huge smile plastered upon his face. He had been waiting in the studio since seven in the morning waiting for every person to arrive. But above all, he had been waiting for Lydia. She sat there before him now, wordlessly, a smile plastered upon her face. She would let him have his moment for now. That is, if Liam ever showed up. 

Billboard had released it's official review of their new single less than an hour before, and upon having read it, Louis felt tears well in his eyes. He had never before been more proud and protective of an album than this one, so to read that Drag Me Down came in at number one, was the most requested single of the week, and to top it off got a four out of five rating, was almost too much to handle for him. They had come so far, they had gotten over the one thing he thought would break them.

When Zayn had left he was so sure that the band would fall apart. There were days of silence, of the boys sitting in the tour bus not saying a word to each other. Days of anguish and utter despair. They had been faced with their biggest fear, they realized they weren't invincible. They were still like they had been at sixteen when they were on the XFactor. They were still vulnerable, susceptible to the scorning world. They did care about what people thought about them, and it was almost as if they realized that people could define them after all. Their world ultimately collapsed around them. They had always thought that they were fireproof, that they could make it through, but when Zayn left they realized that they weren't above the labels. They felt defeated.

But the day they decided to move forward, to say fuck it all and put their heart and souls into their next album, it was almost as if Zayn had never left. They were stronger than ever. And this single proved it. 

"Finally." He said, pointedly looking at Liam as he strolled in with a steaming mug of tea.

"Oh, so I'm late one time and you have to call me out on it?"

Louis sighed, "Just sit down already!"

Reagan smirked, "Is this about the review that came out?"

"It came out already?" Niall asked.

"Yes! God, please can we talk about it?" 

Lydia chuckled, "Please, induldge us."

Liam sat between Niall and Harry on the couch as Louis cleared his throat and pulled up the Billboard article on his iPad. He began reading, "1D Can't Be Dragged Down" He had highlighted the specific parts of the article that he wanted to read to the boys, so he read them verbatim, "One Direction's new single "Drag Me Down" has surprisingly shown us a different side to the once poppy boy band. While the departure of Zayn Malik had left us all sure that the boys would soon be singing their goodbyes, they have proven us wrong once again. "Drag Me Down" premiered at number one this week, and perhaps more interesting of all, it proved a new level of maturity for the group. While they're playing with some interesting sounds, they're not unrecognizable. Regardless though, they have proven one thing: Zayn Malik can not drag them down. These boys are unstoppable."

Harry began clapping, and while it was such a Harry thing to do, the rest of boys followed his lead. So did Reagan, Lydia, Julian and the rest of the band. The song was Louis' after all. It was his pride and joy. While they shared the success, no doubt, they knew who they owed it to. Had it not been for him, perhaps they never would have pulled through Zayn's departure. 

"Alright, alright." Louis said, waving a hand. It almost looked as if he was flushed, "That's enough now."

"No, you made us sit here. Now we get to clap." Harry said, still clapping even though everyone else had stopped.

Louis rolled his eyes, "Really, we should all be clapping for ourselves. And popping some champagne! We did it!"

"It's eight AM." Liam said, squinting at Louis and looking at his still full mug of tea.

"And we're at work?" Reagan said, motioning at the room of people around her.

"Who cares! It's time to celebrate!" Louis said excitedly.

Everyone automatically turned to look at Lydia, who shrugged, "What the hell. Get the bottles, Paul."

Paul nodded, laughing as he left the room. Everyone was rather shocked that Lydia was rather laid back about the situation considering how livid she had been the morning after the release, but as soon as the official charts came in she was all smiles.Besides, the boys were leaving again tomorrow to resume this leg of the tour and wouldn't be back for two months. She figured today was the perfect day to celebrate their successes. But alas, she would be far, far away from them. Locked in her own office, with a bottle of her own. Now that was the perfect celebration. 

No one had noticed Lydia had slipped away other than Reagan, mostly because she was looking fondly upon the boys as her heart swelled with pride. She had heard the song on repeat the last few days, she had to admit, it was probably her favorite song of theirs. They had achieved a sound that would most certainly get a ton of airplay, that both fans and non-fans would enjoy, and finally a song that would finally perhaps begin to destroy the boy band persona they so badly wanted to be rid of. 

She felt a tad out of place, being as this was not a celebration she should technically be a part of. She didn't want to impose, she would rather the boys take this moment and live it anyway. So she took her glass and slipped out, just as Lydia did. Reagan found herself wandering the halls of the currently empty floor and smiling like an idiot remembering the first day she had started working there. How could she ever have imagined that she would manage to knock out Harry Styles and still keep her job. That she would get to know the boys of One Direction for who they actually were. That she would find herself in the process. How far she had come, how far they had all come. 

Somehow she ended up climbing the stairs up to the roof, a place Louis had only told her about but she had never actually managed to check out until now. As she opened the large, reflective door, she was immediately in awe of the beautiful view of downtown LA. She had never considered the fact that they worked in one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, but today, from the roof of the building, she realized how incredibly lucky she was. She had the whole world in the palm of her hands, she really did. And she figured that if the boys could pick themselves up after losing all faith, then why couldn't she? As cliche as it was, she didn't want to be dragged down any further. In the warmth of the sun and the breeze of the ocean kissed skin on the top of one the highest sky scrapers in LA, Reagan felt invincible. And the feeling was only intensified the moment she felt the door close behind her, and she turned to see no one other than Harry walking toward her.

"Hey." He mumbled, cheeks flushed from drinking too much too quickly.

"Hey." 

Her heart began beating rapidly, as it did every time she saw him. But then a sudden calm washed over her. The kind of peace you obtain only when everything is as it should be. 

"What are you doing up here all alone? He asked, approaching her. 

She shrugged nonchalantly, "Nothing."

He smiled dopily, placing an arm around her, "Let's do nothing together then."

She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder, "I wouldn't have it any other way."


	100. Chapter 100

So finally everything seemed good. Reagan smiled to herself as she began packing for Chicago, broke into an even bigger smile when she saw her ring on her right hand. Even though her workload was obviously tripled, for once she was confident in herself. For once everything seemed as if things were going to be more than just okay. Finally, she knew what she was doing, both in her personal and professional life, and that was reiterated by the compliments she had received by the Honda team. They were almost in awe of her, considering she was only a college student and was already heading such a renowned campaign. She was starting to believe in herself, starting to feel comfortable in the body she was in. She was even packing shorts for God's sake. Had it been a few months ago, she wouldn't even have dreamed of it. But perhaps her biggest milestone? She's been having lunch daily with the team, actually eating in front of them. To anyone else this wouldn't be a milestone, but to our girl? She's amazed by the person she's slowly becoming.

"So you're leaving tomorrow?" Kennedy asked, peeking into Reagan's room.

"Yet again," Reagan responded, placing shirts into suitcases.

"Are you still mad at me?" 

Reagan grunted. Of course she had found out that Kennedy was at Louis' house all those nights ago, and of course she was still irked at the fact. Kennedy just didn't get it. Aside from the fact that she didn't need help in taking care of Hailey, she also didn't need the added worry of her little sister being in such close contact with a twenty three year old. 

"We just wanted to help."

"That didn't require a late night visit to Louis'"

"It was like seven at night. And besides I thought you trusted him."

Reagan sighed, "Kenz, you're a very pretty girl."

"So what, you think he's going to take advantage of me?"

Reagan stayed silent.

"And you think I would let him, don't you?"

"I know how you feel about him, Kenz. I just don't want you to get your heart broken."

Kennedy sighed and sat on Reagan's bed, "He's not that kind of guy, Rae. You should already know that."

"I'm not judging his character Kenz. We all do stupid shit when we like someone."

"What stupid shit have you done?" Kennedy said, a huge smirk unfurling upon her face.

Reagan laughed, "Too much."

"But do you regret it?"

"Not even for a minute."

"Even if everything goes to shit?" She asked, referring to Hailey.

"Even if everything goes to shit, it'll all have been worth it."

"The sex was that good?"

Reagan flushed, "You know, we were having a nice moment there."

"Well you never told me what happened."

"You weren't home." Reagan said pointedly.

"But I am now."

"But now I don't feel like talking about it."

"Oh, come on! What was it like? Was it everything you ever dreamed of?"

Just as Reagan was going to say something they heard their mother yell up the stairs, "Girls! Dinner!"

"No!" Kennedy yelled, obviously having seen that Reagan was about to spill something. 

"Sorry, maybe another time." Reagan said smugly. 

"You're leaving tomorrow!"

"Maybe when I get back." Reagan replied, closing her suitcase.

That's when Kennedy saw it, "Where did you get that ring?'

Reagan smiled and shrugged once more.

"Did he give that to you!? Did he seriously give you a Hello Kitty ring!? That's like him proposing to you, Rae! You guys are seriously, serious! Oh my god!"

Reagan continued saying nothing, she figured that would an adequate punishment for Kennedy. One day she would finally tell her every single detail, but today would not be that day. 

"Reagan! Let me try it on!"

"Don't hold your breath."

"Oh come on, I want to see it! Let me see it!" Kennedy cried as they walked towards the staircase.

"See what?" Their mother asked from the kitchen.

Reagan sighed, now it was just going to get worse. Luckily her father was in New York again with Zayn's team. Not that that didn't bother her. It just seemed like too much of a coincidence that she would begin working with One Direction when her father had begun working with Zayn. Just when she had wanted to believe that she had gotten the job because of her merits, her father's shady actions continued to make her think otherwise. 

But at the moment that wasn't on her mind as much. What she was mostly thinking of was a way out of having to tell her mother and Kennedy about her relationship with Harry. But she was coming up blank. 

"Reagan's ring!"

"Ring!?"

"Not an engagement ring, mom." Reagan said, before her mother exploded with happiness.

"It's still a ring!" Kennedy said excitedly.

"Did he give it to you!?"

"Oh my god." Reagan sighed.

"He did! Look at it, mom!" Kennedy exclaimed, grabbing Reagan's hand and shoving it in her mother's face.

"It's so beautiful! It even has a cat on it! Is it a little inside joke between the two of you? Oh goodness, that makes it even more endearing."

"Can we please just have dinner?" Reagan asked, blushing furiously.

Her mother tried to contain herself, she really did for Reagan sake. So she let go of Reagan hand and smiled, "Of course we can."

"Thank you." Reagan graciously exhaled. 

"I made your favorite since you're leaving tomorrow. I still can't believe you've come so far. Look at you, look at everything you've done." She smiled. She couldn't help herself, she ended up pulling Reagan into a teary hug and of course Kennedy joined in as well. There they were, mother and daughters, all hugging in the middle of the kitchen, their faces wet with happy tears.

As much as Reagan hated crying, seeing her mother cry always made her cry. Something swelled in her heart, and the embrace of her mother and sister made it even stronger. She was finally right where she should be, that's how it really felt. Now to conquer all the other obstacles in her way to make sure it would stay that way.


	101. Chapter 101

The boys had not yet arrived when Reagan checked into The Langham Hotel, but they were due the day after. She was left to her own devices for a day before she had to take the boys to the set that Honda had already set up for them to start filming promos. So although Reagan still had a great deal of work to do, she decided to go explore the city. She had only seen it through the windows of the tinted SUV she had been picked up in at the airport, and even then it had still left Reagan in awe as she realized that this was where she was going to be spending a good portion of her summer. 

She packed up her laptop and charger in her tote, slipped on some more comfortable shoes, and headed out of her room. The hotel itself was magnificent, huge swooping architecture and beautiful views, but as she reached the front door and could see through the extravagant windows, she could see hoards of girls being asked to stay behind the newly placed wooden police barricades. Reagan had been warned by Lydia that it would be bad, nothing compared to what it was like in Europe, but Reagan had never thought that it would begin before the boys had even arrived. No one was supposed to know where they were anyway, for all anyone knows they're still in Canada. 

Reagan took a deep breath and walked forward though, regardless of the fact that there were so many girls waiting for the band to arrive. She figured she wouldn't be recognized anyway. 

"That's her!" Yelled a girl after Reagan took two steps out the door. 

Reagan looked up, completely befuddled. They couldn't have been waiting for her, could they?

"Reagan! Reagan!" 

She looked back and forth and saw that almost all of the girls were screaming her name, were beckoning her to come over to them. 

"Please! Can you sign this!" Yelled a girl directly in front of her. 

As she was about to lean over to sign the girl's notebook, her arm was strongly gripped and she looked up to see a finely dressed man in at least his late twenties looking down at her worriedly through his dark sunglasses, "You good?"

She nodded.

"Sorry for the delay, we didn't think they were all here for you." He chuckled.

He was one of the boys' bodyguards no doubt, "It's okay, I didn't think they were here for me either."

"Do you want me to escort you to where you're going, or would you like to sign some things?"

She furrowed her brow, "Me?"

The guard smirked, "They aren't screaming my name."

Reagan looked over at the girls again and knew that if Harry were there he would be pushing her to meet them. So against her better judgement she went over to the first girl she had walked over to and signed her notebook with a flourish. The girl next to her asked for a selfie, Reagan obliged. And soon and it was signature after signature, picture after picture. She didn't understand it. She wasn't supposed to be famous, was she?

The guard looked over at her and tapped his wrist, warning her that she should go soon. But how could she? She felt bad that she couldn't get to every girl.

"Hey." A smaller, brunette girl said to her when Reagan reached her.

"Hi." Reagan smiled, as the girl held up her phone so they could take a picture together.

"I'm Abby." The girl said after the picture, "I just wanted to tell you that's its so cool that you're Harry's girlfriend."

"I-I'm not-"

The girl giggled, "I know, you guys haven't made it official, but we all know."

The girl was quickly pushed aside before she could say anything else, and Reagan watched amidst the flurry of teenage girls as Abby walked away, probably looking at the picture that they had just taken. 

"Alright." The guard said, walking over and taking Reagan's arm once more, "We should go."

Reagan could hear the loud protests, but she knew that if she wasn't pulled away now, she would never have to will to leave herself. 

"Fatass!" Someone yelled angrily as she walked away.

"Whore!" Another yelled. 

"I bet he isn't even dating her." Another scoffed. 

Reagan shook her head, trying to ignore what they were saying. 

"We love you Reagan!" A girl yelled, trying to grab her arm. 

"Stay away from Harry!" Another said, throwing her soda in Reagan's face. Luckily the guard managed to pull Reagan back before it splashed her, but nonetheless it stunned her. 

"Can I advise you to stay in the hotel today? Or have me take you wherever you want to go?"

Reagan almost didn't hear him, the screaming intensified. She heard her name being called everywhere, she could feel herself getting dizzy, "What?" She asked, trying to steady herself.

The guard looked at her worriedly, "Are you sure you want to go out?"

That time she managed to hear him and she quickly said, "I'll stay in today." 

The guard nodded, muttered something into his earpiece, and took Reagan back inside. She looked back one last time at the crowd, scared that that is what her life was about to become. 

"I'm Michael by the way." Said the young guard, still firmly holding onto Reagan's arm. 

"Reagan." She muttered.

"Yeah, I know. I figured that's was your name." He said, motioning back towards the window.

She blushed, "I don't know why they all came for me, I really don't."

Michael shrugged, running his free hand through his longish black hair, "They found out you were here, simple as that."

Reagan looked down at her arm, "You can let go of me."

"Oh." He laughed, "Sorry. I'm still new at this."

"You're new?"

"Started last week."Reagan furrowed her brow which made Michael quickly add, "I used to work with another band, I'm not totally new to this."

"Ah." Reagan said, slipping her key card out of her bag.

"You are though, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"To this whole fame thing? You're not used to it?"

She shrugged, "I'm not famous."

"Those girls seem to think otherwise." He smirked, "Dating a celebrity automatically makes you famous, didn't you know that."

Reagan said nothing, simply picked up the pace to finally get to her room.

But Michael continued anyways, easily keeping up with Reagan's hurried walk, "Which one are you dating?"

"I'm their new campaign manager."

"That's PR right?"

Reagan nodded.

"They sent their PR person on tour with them?"

"I'm in charge of something they're doing here in Chicago, that's why I'm here."

"Seem like a lot of responsibility for someone your age."

Reagan didn't answer again, which didn't dissuade Michael, in fact it only made him ask her again, "So, which one of the boys are you dating? The Irish one?" He looked her up and down and shook his head, "No, you look like the older one's type."

Reagan thanked God she was finally at her room and turned to Michael before opening the door, "Well, thanks."

He shrugged, "No biggie. It's my job." He said pointing to his earpiece. 

As she turned to leave he quickly yelled before she closed the door, "See you tomorrow!"

She sighed, as she stepped into her room. She was so sure that things would be okay from now on, that she would be strong enough to weather through any storm. But was she really ready to go through this every time she wanted to go out? Sure, it wasn't as bad at home anymore, not after Hailey came around, but it's starting all over again. She wanted to tell herself that she was a different person now, that she wasn't the same scared girl that the boys had met all those months ago. But today, today had really been a reality check. 

She heard her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled it out hesitantly, sure that by now all of those selfies had hit every social media website.

Dude! Call me! You're all over Twitter and Tumblr! 

Of course Kennedy would be the first one to see them. Reagan shook her head and was immediately grateful that Kennedy had deleted all of her personal social media accounts. 

CALLLLL MEEEE CALLL MEEE NOWWWW

Reagan threw her phone onto the plush bed as soon as it started vibrating rapidly, because no doubt, Kennedy would not stop messaging her until she called her and Reagan had no intention of doing that any time soon. Instead she started to undress to get into a bubble bath. She was sure this was probably going to be the last day of peace she was probably going to be getting, so she figured she might as well enjoy it.


	102. Chapter 102

Kennedy sat across form Hailey. Hailey had been moved out of the hotel and had finally gotten an apartment to herself. To say she had done a complete 180 was an understatement. Hailey was like Kennedy had never seen her. She was up and about, humming, running to write down lyrics if the mood struck her. It was astounding. 

"You look good."

Hailey nodded, "Yeah."

Kennedy slowly sipped at her lemonade and looked out the window. Hailey had of course gotten an amazing view, along with a pool, indoor gym, and spa, "This is a great place."

"Yeah, management did something right for once." Hailey muttered, scribbling away in her journal.

Kennedy couldn't help but wonder why Hailey even kept her around. Whenever they hung out together, Hailey kind of just ignored her. Kennedy felt like she just took up space. But still, Hailey still asked her to come over frequently, and since she was on a mission, Kennedy figured it was better to just go with the flow. But Kennedy was slowly also getting used to Hailey. She wasn't that bad. Especially after everything that had happened between her and Harry. So she had to have a bit of an attitude adjustment, other than that she was just a girl, just like Kennedy.

It was silent in the room, but a comfortable type of silence that the girls had become accustom to. Hailey honestly just didn't want to be alone. She liked having Kennedy around, and she liked that Kennedy didn't force her to talk. It almost made her wish she had a little sister when she was growing up, almost. Kennedy as well was feeling a weird bond forming with Hailey, but she didn't want to get so involved. She knew she had to get the DVD as soon as humanly possible, and finally just cut off all ties with her. But could she really do it? It felt like it was so wrong, she felt so wrong every time she visited Hailey with the sole intention of grabbing the DVD and running. Maybe that's why she just kept putting it off. In reality she could've gotten last week, or the week before. How man times had Hailey left her alone with her things? Too many. But today, today would be the day. Kennedy had to get herself together and just finally do it. As she was attempting to give her self a pep talk though, Hailey's cellphone went off and interrupted Kennedy's train of thought. 

Hailey answered it casually, "Hello? Yeah. Oh, okay." She looked up at Kenned and said, "It's my mum." She whispered, motioning towards the door, "I'll be back."

Kennedy nodded and waited for Hailey to close the door behind her. Okay so maybe she would finally be able to find the DVD, she figured she would have at least ten minutes to look around.

Everything was still in boxes, Hailey hadn't bothered to take anything out other than some outfits and her makeup. Kennedy figured she had to have kept the DVDs close though. She didn't want to come up empty handed like when she searched Hailey's dressing room. 

She sorted through Hailey's dresser, her medicine cabinet in the bathroom, under her bed, she was about to give up when she spotted a small nook next to the table where Hailey's laptop was charging. She went up to it and found various CDs and DVDs in unmarked cases and sighed loudly. She would have to open every single one to be able to see if the disk had any date or markings on it. She opened the unmarked disk and found that it had the name of the hotel where Reagan had stayed and that it had the date 06-27-2015 scribbled upon it. But just as she was about to put all of the CDs back, and run to put the DVD in her purse, Hailey stepped back into the room and yelled, "What are you doing?"

Kennedy jumped, obviously startled, and dropped all of the CDs on the floor. Hailey looked down at them, her mouth slightly ajar. 

"Is this why you keep coming over?" Hailey asked, marching over to where Kennedy was and pointing down to the CDs. "She told you, didn't she? She sent you here to get this?" Hailey angrily picked up the DVD that Kennedy had been holding and waved it in her face.

"No I-I"

"She did, didn't she? You never wanted to be my friend, you don't even care about me do you? All you wanted was to make sure your fat ass of a sister kept her fucking job!"

"Hailey-"

"No." She yelled. "You're just like the rest of them! You only care about poor, little, Reagan!"

"Hailey, it's not what you think. I do care about-"

"Me? You care about me? If you cared about me you just would've asked me about the fucking DVD! You wouldn't have used me! You know what?" Hailey opened up the case, took the DVD, and cracked it in half. She looked at Kennedy with fire in her eyes, "Now get out. I don't ever want to see you again."

Kennedy hung her head in shame, "I'm sorry." She muttered before walking out.

She could hear Hailey crying through the door as she closed it, and Kennedy almost broke down herself. Yeah, Hailey was a spiteful, cold-hearted person. But deep down inside, she was still a person...wasn't she? Kennedy tried to fight away the tears as she got out of Hailey's building and walked down the block to the bus stop. But she couldn't. How could she have done this? How could she have betrayed Hailey, even if Hailey wasn't the best person, even if she was rude, and mean, and didn't have a filter, that didn't excuse Kennedy from what she did. Kennedy felt completely and totally ashamed of herself, this wasn't who she was. 

She looked at the time and before she could stop herself she dialed Louis' number. She figured he was probably just lazing around the arena, waiting for their next concert to begin. She just needed to hear his voice. She needed to tell someone that she just royally fucked up.

"Kennedy?"

"Hi, Louis." She said, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"What's wrong?" He asked, obviously hearing the tears she was trying to choke back.

"I'm such a shit person."

"What happened, love?"

"I went to Hailey's apartment today." She could hear Louis sighing on the line, "Well she left me alone in her room while she was talking to her mom, and I thought, I thought that I could just get the DVD before she came back you know?"

"Oh no."

"Yeah. She found me looking through her stuff. I found the DVD, I did, but she figured out that-that." She tried so hard not to cry, but she couldn't help it.

"Oh, love." Louis sighed, "Come on now, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have encouraged you to do this. I'm sorry Kenz. Seriously though, you were just trying to help Reagan and Harry-"

"But at what cost!? I'm no better than she is! She actually needed a friend this time and I betrayed her."

"Kenz, come on, she's not the greatest person in the world."Louis said, obviously trying to console her. He cleared his throat and asked,"Did she give you the DVD?"

Kennedy shook her head, "No. She broke it in front of me."

"What about the electronic copy?"

Kennedy felt her head spinning,"What electric copy?"


	103. Chapter 103

To say it was a very rude awakening would be putting it lightly. Reagan awoke to Niall, Louis, Harry, and even Liam jumping onto her bed, dogpile style. They were laughing as she started yelling, "What the fuck!?"

"Oh god, Reagan Bailey." Louis said, kissing her forehead, "We missed you so much. Especially this twat." He said reaching over and nudging Harry on his arm.

"Are you drunk?" Reagan asked.

"What we can't be in a good mood?" Louis asked smilingly.

"We just missed you so much," Harry said, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her chest. The other boys laughed with no intention of getting off of Reagan's king-sized bed. 

Reagan sighed, "How did you even get in here?"

"Asked for the key card at the front desk." Niall said. 

"They gave you the key card to my room!?"

"We just slipped them a cool hundred." Louis winked.

"You guys are seriously gross sometimes."

"Hey, we just wanted to see you." Louis said.

"You could knock?"

"You were asleep."

"Yeah! It's..." Reagan turned to look at the clocked and yelled, "It's five AM!?"

"Flew in after recording our last track." 

"So that's why you're all drunk?"

"We are not drunk!"

Reagan turned to look at Liam already snoring on the corner of the bed, and Niall passed out on his stomach. Harry as well had fallen asleep on top of Reagan. She rolled her eyes, "Really, you're telling me all of you aren't drunk."

Louis smiled, "No, we're hungover."

"You're all insane is what you are." Reagan mumbled, her arm around Harry's sleeping frame regardless. As much as she hated to admit it, their impromptu surprise was actually pretty endearing. 

She almost jumped out of bed when she heard a knock at her door though, but of course Louis didn't give her the chance, "Come in." He yelled, still laying on his stomach.

"How are they going to come in?" She muttered, but then she realized that if it was someone on the team they would be able to come in since they had everyone's key cards. And sure enough, within three seconds Michael walked into her room only to find Reagan surrounded by the world's biggest boy band, while she was still in her pajamas.

Michael laughed, "Guess I was way, way off. You're dating all of them, aren't you?"

"Haven't you heard, mate? You can't just pick one." Louis murmured.

"He's drunk." Reagan said, kicking him off of the bed. 

Louis yelled out, "I'm the one she least likes though. Her favorite always gets to sleep right next to her." 

Reagan tried to get up, but Michael stopped her, "Oh, no. Don't wake him up. I just wanted to know where the band was. I was told they had arrived but I couldn't find any of them in their rooms. You guys should just rent one room if you all spend your nights like this, would really cut back on costs."

"He's got a point." Louis said, looking up at Reagan from the carpeted floor.

"Alright, that's it." She pushed Harry off of her and shook Liam and Niall awake, "Everyone out of my room. Out!"

"Noooo." They groaned.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. I really didn't." Michael chuckled, "It's my shift anyway, I'll make sure no one interrupts you guys. I'm sure it was hard being separated for so long." He stared straight at Reagan when he said it, raising his eyebrows slightly. Reagan simply rolled her eyes and wished that the earth would swallow her whole. 

"You have no idea." Harry said, laying back down next to Reagan and embracing her even more tightly.

"I'll be right outside. My name is Michael by the way."

"I thought I hadn't seen you before. It's nice to meet you, mate." Louis said with a chuckle. 

"Likewise." Michael nodded heading towards the door.

Reagan waited until Michael left the room to yell, "Seriously!? Do you guys want me to lose my job?"

"He was a body guard, who is he going to tell." Louis muttered, finally getting off the floor.

"Looked like a nice enough fellow." Liam muttered. 

"We should get a move on though, let Reagan get her beauty sleep." Louis said

"She doesn't need beauty sleep, she's already beautiful." Harry mumbled.

The boys laughed and shook their heads as Reagan's cheeks flamed up. But luckily the boys were really planning on leaving to their own rooms. That is, except Harry.

"Harry." She whispered, the other boys already heading to the door, "Aren't you going back to your room?"

He shook his head and hugged her even tighter to him, "Are you mad? I haven't seen you in a whole week. I'm not going anywhere."

"We'll see you later." Liam said, ushering the boys out and closing the door behind him. 

Reagan stiffened, "Harry, you can't stay here. People are watching us."

"Who? The body guard?"

Reagan didn't say anything, she didn't want to come off as paranoid. And besides, she figured that someone was already blackmailing her with footage of Harry coming out of her hotel room, why care if someone caught them now?

She hated Harry for always making her lower her guard, for making her feel so secure even though the world was clearly against them. 

"So can I stay?" He asked sleepily.

Reagan nodded.

He smiled widely, sitting up and taking off his boots and his shirt. Quickly he threw them onto the floor and peeled back the covers to join her.

"I missed you." He said, kissing her cheek and taking her once more into his embrace.

She pressed her lips to his quickly and responded, "I missed you too."

And just like that they fell asleep, smiles clinging to both their faces.

—✴— 

Louis was on edge, that was very apparent. He was trying so hard to act normally, even went along with the asinine plan Harry had earlier that morning to surprise Reagan. But he knew that the time was nearing. He knew the moment that Kennedy had told him about what happened with Hailey, that he had to be prepared to drop his news. He owed it to Harry and Reagan, he figured that it would be the least he could do. He knew that his news was going to be probably one of the most talked about stories for a while. After all, all the boys had had girlfriends, but not all of them had gotten them pregnant.

But what had him most on edge was the fact that Briana had gone to another checkup the previous day and had sent him the sonogram before the concert. It was both the most frighting and most exciting thing he had ever seen in his entire life. 

As he stood before the spacious window in his empty hotel room at six in the morning, he couldn't help but wonder how much longer the immense loneliness would last. He felt it over taking him once more, as it always did when the lights came down and the music stopped. When he was left to his own devices once more. He couldn't help but think of how vastly different his life would be with a child, how perhaps he would never feel this crippling sadness ever again. 

He paced in his room, waiting for some kind of confirmation that shit had hit the ceiling. He couldn't help but look through his twitter feed aimlessly, knowing that soon enough that video would surface and he would have to send the email he had already composed anonymously to TMZ. 

But then it was eight and there were knocks at the door and he realized that he hadn't slept all night. He was a wreck, Reagan could see it the moment he opened the door.

"Did you sleep?"

"Not a wink."

Reagan shook her head and looked at the clipboard in her hand,"Well take a shower and work your magic, you guys start filming your promo today."

"Filming?" Louis asked, almost as if he didn't recall the fact that they were in Chicago solely to film the things they needed for the Honda Civic Tour.

Reagan shook the clipboard in front of Louis, "I sent you this schedule last night."

"Didn't have time to check my email." He shrugged. Which was a blatant lie, but at this point he didn't feel bad about it. What he felt bad about was the fact that he didn't have the courage to tell Reagan that Hailey was most certainly going to release that video, and that she should be ready for it. 

"Just get ready. We're leaving in twenty."

"Got it." He said, ushering her out and closing the door behind her. 

While he didn't want the video to be leaked, at the same time he knew he wouldn't get any sleep until it did. He sighed as he started peeling off clothes to jump into the shower. As he turned on the water and let it fall upon his head, he still couldn't feel the tension leaving him as it usually did. All he could think about was that sonogram and the fact that his life was about to completely change. 

He hoped it was for the better.


	104. Chapter 104

Okay so it was pretty cool to be in charge of an entire project. Reagan couldn't stop smiling when they reached the stage, she could see why the boys had been picked to be Honda's next tour artists, they were kind of made for these promos. All they literally had to do was be themselves, they were naturals.

"All right." Yelled the director, "That's a wrap!" The director turned to look at Reagan, waving her over. He smiled as she approached him, "This was a brilliant idea. You were right, they didn't really need a script."

She shrugged bashfully, she had been following the boys long enough to know that if they were given a script they weren't going to look natural. They were going to look forced, stressed, and tense. So what better option than to let them do whatever they pleased, with a little bit of guidance of course. She was thinking about approaching Ben Winston and having him think about doing the same thing for the boys' music videos, but she also knew she shouldn't overstep. Well, she would deal with that problem when they began filming the music video for 'Drag Me Down' next week anyway.

"I think we have enough for today." The director said, playing back some of the film to make sure, "We'll edit the first promo, make a rough cut, and see what else we need for tomorrow. Why don't we call it a day."

Reagan nodded, "Sounds great."

"See you all tomorrow!" He yelled towards the boys, who had already begun packing up their things to head back to the hotel.

Harry grabbed his messenger bag and quickly ran up to Reagan, "Hey, you want to get dinner?"

Reagan furrowed her brow, "Aren't we all eating back at the hotel?"

"Yeah, but we can get room service." He said, smiling devilishly.

"We can't keep doing this in public." She said, busying herself by putting her stuff away in her tote bag, trying to avoid his pleading eyes.

"But we're not technically in public." He smiled, "Technically we'll be in the hotel."

It wasn't even about Hailey at this point, it was the simple fact that Reagan was realizing how far she had actually gotten in this short amount of time. She and Harry were together, she wasn't planning on changing that any time soon, so she didn't get what the rush was. Of course she would love to spend time with him, but not at the cost of her career. 

"Harry."

"I know, I know, we're right back where we started."

She nodded, "But at least we know where we stand." She smiled, trying to reason with him. 

He sighed, "Really, we can't just have a quiet dinner and watch a movie?"

"You go back to your room at a reasonable hour." She warned.

Harry chuckled, "Deal."

"I'm serious, Harry."

"I know love." He winked.

Reagan was about to chide him when Liam came up to them along with Niall and Louis. He looked up from his phone and said, "I'm off."

"Off where?" Reagan asked.

"Sophia is coming in."

"She flew out?"

Liam nodded ecstatically, "Wanted to surprise me."

"I'm actually flying out." Louis said, shrugging.

"What do you mean you're flying out?"

"We're done, aren't we?"

"We're filming tomorrow!"

Louis sighed and looked at the other boys, "Lads, we'll meet you back at the hotel, Miss Bailey and I are going to have ourselves a chat."

The boys looked at each other and shrugged, Harry only looking worriedly upon them. But he let it go and followed Niall to the exit, as Liam was excitedly talking on the phone. They waited until the boys left before they started walking toward the other exit.

"Okay, what is it, Louis?" Reagan said, crossing her arms before her.

Louis looked around and upon seeing there was no one around muttered, "You have to tell Harry about the DVD."

Reagan almost exploded, "Kennedy told you, didn't she!?"

"Reagan, that isn't important right now. What's important is that you and Harry just come out and say you're in a relationship before somebody else does it for you."

"What did she do?"

Louis avoided Reagan's piercing stare, "Kenz was just trying to help, Reagan. She really was."

Reagan thought back to the conversation she had just had with Kennedy the night before. No wonder she had been acting so strange. Something must have happened with Hailey. What could she have possibly done to make things worse?

"I told her not to! I-" She looked up at Louis and sighed loudly, "This isn't your problem! Why can't you guys just let me figure this out on my own!"

"It doesn't work that way!" He yelled, probably louder than he should have, but really he had been keeping his feelings bottled up for so long, "You don't carry the load by yourself."

"So what, we tell the world and what then?"

"What do you think, the world is going to stop turning because people find out you and Harry are dating? Get over yourself."

"I'm going to lose my job."

"Oh please. Do you see how impressed these people are by you? If Lydia's mad enough to let you go, someone else is going to take you in, especially now that you're dating Harry fucking Styles. The connections are limitless."

"It's not about the connections! I want to prove I'm good at what I do because of my own skills, not because I'm Harry's girlfriend."

"Look Reagan, I'm leaving tonight to tell Briana that I'm planning on leaking the news soon. I'd rather have it out there now and not have to stress about keeping this a secret from everyone. The tour is almost done, the album is coming out, and we're going on a break. In a few months all of this will be irrelevant."

"Are you giving me an ultimatum?"

Louis nodded, "Either you tell Harry about the DVDs or I do, but one thing is for sure, all of this lying is over."

"Why can't you just leave things alone!?"

"Why can't you just realize that people care about you! You're not alone in this world, you never were for a second. So get over it. Harry is a good guy Reagan, just tell him what happened. It's not a big deal."

"He's never going to believe me."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. He doesn't see the bad in anyone, Lou. You know that."

"Yeah, but I also know that he loves you, Rae."

"So? After everything the two of you have been through, I don't think he's going to let you go that easily."

Reagan shook her head, "You really think Hailey is going to leak it?"

Louis shrugged, "People aren't stupid. Did you see how many people posted pictures of you yesterday. Everyone is calling you Harry's girlfriend. I'm surprised you haven't heard from Lydia yet."

That was actually a very valid point. Maybe Lydia was too busy, Reagan doubted it though. She watched her google alerts like a hawk. 

"Look, my point is, the sooner you tell the world, the sooner this'll all be over."

"You mean the sooner it all begins."

"You're making it sound like it's the end or something. Was yesterday really that bad? It looked like the girls liked you."

"One of them threw a soda at me."

Louis laughed, "That's not that bad. Trying getting hit in the crotch with a shoe." He said, referring to when Harry had been hit with a fan's sneaker during a concert. 

"Good point." She giggled. 

"So, are we alright? Do you mind if I go do this?" He asked, looking at her through thick eyelashes. 

She nodded, "Do what you must."

"You too." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, "Just you watch, you and me, we're going to be okay. We'll make it through."

"I hope so." She looked at her watch and then back at Louis, "Will you really be back in time tomorrow."

"For the love of God, I won't risk your career, don't worry." 

They heard a car honk outside and peeked through the door to see Michael waving at them frantically, Louis was no doubt running late to his flight.

"Alright, let's get move on then." Louis said, "We have lots to do."


	105. Chapter 105

Harry was not stupid. So he acted like he didn't get things at times, so what. He thought it better if he looked aloof. And okay, maybe sometimes he was totally aloof, but he just wrote that off to his wanting to avoid conflict whenever possible. He was a total believer in going with the flow. But something about the way that Reagan and Louis were acting was making him seriously question his mantra. Especially when Reagan came back, without Louis in tow. He had figured Reagan would talk some sense into him, and if not, she would just drag him back to the hotel. But she hadn't. She had actually let him go to another state the night before they were filming a promo. He just didn't understand what was happening, it was so unlike her. 

"You let him go?" Harry asked as soon as he saw Reagan walking down the hallway of the extravagant hotel. He was sitting on the floor outside her room, playing with the rings upon his fingers. 

"Hello to you too." She said, pulling her key card out of her bag. 

"Why did you let him go? I thought we were filming tomorrow."

"He has some problems to resolve." She said, pressing her card to the door and opening it for them to go in. 

Harry furrowed his brow, "Really?"

"Yes, really."

Harry was slow to get up, but when he did he finally asked, "What's going on? What's so important that you would actually let him go?"

Reagan looked at him through her eyelashes and motioned for him to go insider her room,"We need to talk." She said reluctantly. 

"Oh?"

Reagan turned to look at him and nodded, "Yeah."

—✴—

Two hours later and really, what had Reagan expected. Harry sat before her, room service plate untouched, still trying to unpack everything she had told him. 

"So what you're telling me is-" Reagan sighed, but Harry maintained the same expression, "That Hailey is actually evil."

"I didn't say it in those words."

"Well you're certainly painting it that way."

"Do you not believe me?"

Harry didn't say no, but Reagan could tell he didn't want to believe what she had just told him. She came in knowing that it would be an uphill battle, but she didn't think it would take this long. She was truly losing her patience. 

"It's not that I don't believe you..."

"What is it then?" She snapped.

Harry shrugged, fully aware of the fact that they had been having the same conversation for two hours and nothing had really progressed. "I really don't know. I just don't think Hailey would do something like that, Reagan. Are you sure it wasn't a misunderstanding?"

"Yes, I totally misunderstood the fact that she was blackmailing me."

Harry frowned as Reagan got up off the bed and began pacing, "Reagan, why didn't you just tell me before?"

"I was scared!"

"So? We could've faced this together."

"If it even happened." She said, her voice incredibly smug.

"Hailey isn't a bad person. Did you watch the DVD? What if there wasn't actually anything on it?"

"That makes it any better?"

Harry sighed.

"The fact of the matter is that she blackmailed me. She purposely came between us, Harry. You seriously have no problem with that?" Reagan almost cringed at the fact that those very words came out of her mouth, but they were true. If it hadn't have been for Hailey, she and Harry would've been together sooner. At least, that's what she had been telling herself. 

"It's been rough for her, Reagan."

"Are you seriously defending her right now!?" Reagan's face grew red, there was fire in her eyes. Harry couldn't recall a time he had ever seen her quite that angry. 

"Are you really blaming her for the fact that you didn't want to date me?"

"What do you mean I didn't want to date you!? I'm dating you right now, unfortunately, aren't I?" Reagan asked. 

"You know what I mean. The whole reluctant thing, Rae. The whole, "We can't do this right now" and "Just do whatever Hailey says" rubbish. You were the one pushing me toward her."

"Because she made me!"

"Reagan, you weren't ready to be with me then, it's that plain and simple." Harry said calmly. 

Reagan knew what he was saying was true, yes, she acknowledged it. But God, it made her so angry. She wished that for a second he could just be on her side. 

"Rae, you weren't ready. That's okay." He tried again, getting up and going towards her. 

She took two sharp steps away from him though, "I tell you that she's been lying to you, manipulating me, and treating everyone like shit, and you still defend her?"

"I'm not defending her."

"You're not blaming her."

"We're all accountable for our own actions, Rae."

Reagan groaned, "Can you please cut it out with your new age hipster yogi talk!? Just be real with me right now, Harry."

"I am, though."

"No you're not."

"Just because I'm saying things you don't like?"

"Harry." Reagan pleaded.

"No, look. She still has the DVD right?"

Reagan nodded.

"And she still had them when we got together?"

"Yeah."

"Then why did you choose me? Why did you supposedly throw everything away just to be by my side?"

"I-I."

"You were ready. That's why."

Reagan wanted to scream at him, to tell him that he wasn't right. That it was Hailey's fault that she couldn't be with Harry until now. But fuck, he was right. He was totally and completely right, and she knew it. Nobody could choose how she would live her life, only she could.

"Do you really not believe me?" Was the only thing she could utter without incriminating herself. 

"I didn't say that, love. Hailey's a good girl, believe me. A tad bit misguided, a little out of sorts, but she has a good heart." 

Only Harry Styles could manage to see the good even in the girl who tried to keep him apart from the love of his life, Reagan realized, feeling even shittier for blaming everything on Hailey. Yeah, Hailey wasn't nice, but would it really be that hard to believe that there was some good in her? Was it really that hard for her to see past Hailey's front? She knew it wasn't, she had seen past it the night she decided to be with Harry. Although she feared the repercussions of the DVD she knew that being with Harry outweighed them all. But more importantly, she finally chose to be happy. She chose herself above all else. She finally stopped letting other people dictate what she could and couldn't do. So why blame Hailey when clearly she was the one in charge of her own life all along?

"I have never hated you more in my life." She muttered, turning away from him. 

Harry laughed, "That means I'm right."

"Yeah." She almost said in a whisper, "You are."

"I'm sorry," He said leaning into her, "Didn't quite catch that, love." 

Reagan shoved him, "You heard me."

"A little bit louder for the people in the back though."

"We're not at one of your god-awful concerts."

"Now you're just being mean." He pouted.

Reagan sighed for probably the thousandth time that night, "Fine. You're right, Harry. I wasn't ready for all of this. I'm still not completely."

"But we're here now." He said thoughtfully, "What should we do?"

"We come out about our relationship." 

"Really?" He asked, trying not to look completely floored. 

Reagan nodded, it was time for her to take her life back. Hailey, her father, and every one else could go to hell, this time things were going to be on her terms. 

"We come out before she drops the DVD, that's the only way."

"What if she isn't even planning to?" Harry asked. 

"We'll still have come out on our terms." Reagan said.

"Yeah? You're not going to say you were pushed into it, are you?"

She shook her head, "There's nothing I want to do more than to stop this lying."

The time had come, either everything was going to burn, or she was going to rise above it. But one thing was for sure, the Reagan Bailey that walked into the offices of Columbia records all that time ago was not the same one standing before Harry. And strangely enough, she couldn't wait to see who'd she become after all this mess was over.


	106. Chapter 106

Louis called the following morning to assure Reagan that he would of course be back in time for lunch, basically confirming that the plan was on. What he hadn't told her was that Briana agreed much too quickly for his liking, but that would be an issue for another time. For now, Louis had to begin planning how to leak the news without it being traced back to him, just as Harry and Reagan had to go about revealing their own relationship. 

Considering Reagan is becoming quite the savvy PR person, she had a few strategies they could use. She spent hours talking them through with Harry. But Harry, being Harry, had already planned it the day he realized he was in love with Reagan. He wouldn't let her know that, of course, but he knew there was only one way that it could be done. He had to tell the entire world, he had to do it in the middle of an interview. Something reminiscent of when Tom Cruise jumped up on Oprah's couch and shouted to the world how much he loved Katie Holmes, but not as embarrassing. Well, who was he kidding, even more, embarrassing but equally as endearing.

"Does it have to be done today?" He asked, yawning. He was feeling worn from having spent the entire night awake with her. Not that he minded, he would never mind. 

Reagan nodded, "Louis is going to reveal the baby news on Good Morning America."

"That's tomorrow..." Harry said, too suprised at the fact that she was really willing to bring this all to light so quickly. 

"Mhmm." She responded, nonchalantly.

He attempted to play it cool and asked, "Are you coming out to the filming with us?"

"I can't, I'm stuck here."

Harry frowned, "You can't go for one day?"

"I have a job here, Harry. You know that."

"But I want you with me if we're coming out to the public. You have no idea how bad it's going to get, Rae."

"So you want to protect me?"

Harry nodded, making Reagan smile, "I can take care of myself. "

"That's not the case."

"What's the case then?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. I just...I want to protect you. I know you can take care of yourself..."

"But I never knew I could, so let me do it this time, okay? I've never stood up for myself before, and I think it's time I did. So thanks, really, thank you. But...I need to do this." She looked away shyly, feeling as if she was revealing too much of herself at one time. She didn't think she could ever get used to being this close to someone, no matter who it was. 

"It's about both of us, though." He rationalized.

"I know."

"You're not going to budge, are you?"

Reagan shook her head, "No."

Harry relented, "Fine. But at the first sign of trouble-"

"You're going to stay in New York and finish filming, and I will take care of it."

"Fine." He huffed.

"The only thing I'm really worried about is Lydia though."

"She's all the way in LA what could she possibly do?"

Reagan grimaced, "I wouldn't underestimate her."

"Besides, if we begin just slightly leaking stuff today and then confirm it on the same day that the baby news comes out, she'll have a much bigger problem on her hands."

"Wait, you're going to confirm it on Good Morning America, aren't you?" Reagan said, looking right through his plan. 

"Well-"

"It's not a bad idea."

Harry's neck almost snapped from how quickly he turned to look at Reagan, "What?"

"You heard me. It's not a bad idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean from a PR point of view, you're totally right. If you confirmed we were together, and two minutes later Louis came out and told the world he was going to have a child, well, his news would bury ours in the trending sections."

"So what do we do now?"

Reagan smiled, "We get ourselves trending everywhere."

—✴—

So Reagan knew that eventually she would be forced to bring to light her relationship with Harry, but what she didn't know was that it would be so soon. But she was ready, that was for sure. The fact that she didn't second guess herself when they walked out of the hotel that day, hand in hand, just further reiterated the fact.

"You can't stop for autographs." Reagan mumbled, before they went out the back entrance. She knew it would be flooded, there wasn't a door that wasn't being guarded by fans outside the hotel. All they had to do was reach the car, literal baby steps. 

"What do you mean I can't stop."

"We talked about this."

Harry sighed, but gave a nod. He tightened his grip around her hand instead, he could almost feel her body radiating anxiety. He knew she wanted so badly to be strong, to be this whole new person, but he wanted to help. He wanted to shelter her from the barrage of hate that would undoubtedly be focused on her for the next few weeks. He wanted to make sure that he did for her, what no one did for him when he first got into the business. Hopefully, she would let him. 

"Alright, kids. Car is parked directly in front." Michael said, stepping before them to open the door. He looked at intertwined hands and raised his brow, "I thought the joke was over."

"What joke, mate?"

"The whole "We're all dating our campaign manager" thing."

"Yeah, it is." Harry said, his eyes growing dark, "I'm the only one dating her."

"Really?" Michael said, his voice sounding uneven because of the fact that he was holding back obvious laughter.

Reagan was about to tear into him when Harry finally said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

"I always thought you were the one in a relationship with the older one."

Reagan almost started laughing, she really did. Not that Harry's sexuality was a joke, she knew that he didn't care what people thought of him. But God, she really thought that Michael was going to say that she didn't look like his type. That her biggest fears were going to come to fruition before she even stepped out with Harry in public for the first time.

Harry nudged Reagan to get her to stop cackling and said, "Straight as an arrow, mate. Not that it would matter."

"You're right, you're right. No disrespect man, just really took me by surprise. But this is real right? The girls that were asking for your autograph were right, weren't they?" Michael asked.

Reagan nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, I'll make sure to keep an extra eye on you." He winked.

Reagan blushed, looking away quickly, "Thanks."

Harry didn't like that look one bit, and for the first time felt a pang of jealousy rising in his chest, "We really do have to go."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah. But like your girl said, you might not want to stop to sign anything. Not for a while. Not while she's with you at least."

Harry nodded, knowing that her safety came first. He would have to forgo fan interactions for a little while, as much as it pained him. But he knew it would all be worth it in the end, and he hoped Reagan thought the same. 

"All right kids, get out there." Michael said, opening the door, "The world is waiting."


	107. Chapter 107

"Are you two mad!?" Niall asked the moment Harry and Reagan walked into the break room in the studio that Honda had rented out, "Lydia is going to murder the both of you!" He shoved his phone in Reagan's face, a picture of her and Harry holding hands as they came out of the hotel upon the screen. 

Liam came up behind him calmly, "I tried to reason with him, I did. Told him it had to be a part of your plan."

Reagan sighed, "It's too early for this." She shoved Niall away and attempted to put her things down as Niall and Liam huddled around her. 

"And where is Louis!?" Niall said, getting even more worked up, "How is he not here yet!?"

Harry, ignoring the ruckus, simply went up to the coffee maker in the room, got some hot water in a mug, and calmly picked a teabag before rejoining the group. He blew at the hot, steaming liquid, as he watched his bandmates and girlfriend continue their ruckus. 

"He'll be back."

"He'll be back!?"

"You heard him say he was leaving!" Reagan argued. 

"Yeah, but no one ever thought you would let him go!" Niall paused before continuing, "Who are you, Reagan? What has this job done to you?"

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Shut up." 

"And really? Of the four of us you choose that twat? You choose to ruin your life for him?"

"Jesus, mate." Liam said smacking Niall, "What the hell's wrong with you?"

Niall flushed, "Sorry, still sore about Hailey is all. Harry gets two girls that would do anything for him, what do I get?"

"Your right hand." Said Louis as he calmly walked through the doors. 

"You're back!" Niall said, smiling widely, completely forgetting the jab. 

Louis gave his signature smirk and ruffled Niall's hair, "A little too excited, are we Nialler."

Niall pulled away and attempted to salvage his just styled hair, but failed. 

"Actually kept your word." Liam said, lifting his brow.

"Why are you so surprised, Payno. Got to be a responsible adult and all that shit now." He turned to look at Reagan knowingly, "Nice pictures by the way. I don't envy you two for a second."

Harry shrugged, swirling his spoon in his mug,"Gonna do a social media cleanse."

"You look rather calm, Harry." Louis said, almost accusingly.

"Are you saying I shouldn't be?"

"I just figured..."

"Figured?"

"Well, I don't know. I thought you would be all over the place."

Reagan looked at Harry and then Louis, "Just give it some time. I'm sure he'll be all over the place once the news really starts to circulate."

"TMZ hasn't gotten the story yet." Niall shrugged. 

"Takes a few days, they have to verify it." Reagan said, grabbing her clipboard and looking over their schedule for the day. 

"How soon til Lydia calls?" Louis asked, throwing his bag in a corner somewhere and going to make himself a cup of tea as well.

"I'm surprised she hasn't already to be honest." Liam said.

"She's very busy." Reagan said, her stomach twisting in knots at the thought of having to face Lydia. 

"Lucky you." Louis quipped.

"She's going to murder her." Niall said, shaking his head as he looked Reagan up and down.

"Not if she doesn't murder Louis first." Harry muttered, knowingly looking at Louis.

"What? Why would she-"

"You're leaking the baby news!" Liam almost shouted accusingly, quickly realizing that he was indeed in public and that it would be best if he didn't leak it before Louis did. 

"Way to let the cat out of the bag, mate." Louis pointedly said to Harry. 

"We have a job to do, let's leave our personal lives aside for now." Reagan tried, but the boys continued to chatter among themselves. She was going to call them to attention, but sighed instead. She'd let them have their fun considering they were about to start working for about ten hours straight and then jump on a plane to head to New York to film Good Morning America. Meanwhile, she'd try to have a cup of coffee and remain calm. Remaining calm was key to surviving this ordeal after all. 

—✴—

The rest of the day surprisingly went off without a hitch. No one within the Honda team had found out about her and Harry, and most of the filming had been completed. Reagan had even sent the boys off to New York without any problems, a complete and utter miracle. 

"Gonna miss them, aren't you." Michael asked as he walked Reagan to her room. 

Reagan almost felt claustrophobic around Michael. The unease came from the fact that she had now basically acquired a shadow. She was really beginning to understand why Harry had felt the need to run away from his guards on a daily basis, and she had only had one for two days. 

She shrugged, "It's part of the job."

"Isn't it hard dating your client?"

Reagan glance at him harshly, "Isn't it hard sticking your nose in everyone's business?"

"Ouch."

"Sorry." She said almost immediately, "Long day."

"It's okay." He shrugged.

"You know," Reagan said, "I didn't know guards got to talk to their clients like this."

"What, do you think we're mutes?"

"I thought you were trained like those guards in front of the royal palace in England." She said as she stood before her door, once more taking her key card out.

"Whatever." He chuckled, "Get some sleep."

"Goodnight." She mumbled, "Sorry if I broke protocol."

"Yeah, you broke my vow of silence." He said rolling his eyes.

"You have to take a vow!?" She asked jokingly.

"Goodnight, Reagan." He said, indicating how done he was with her by turning away from her door and chuckling to himself as he walked down the hallway. 

As she closed the door behind him she heard her phone vibrate in her bag and quickly pulled it out, finally Kennedy was calling her back. 

"ARE YOU INSANE!" Kennedy screamed as soon as Reagan hit accept.

"Wow, hello to you too."

"This is how you're going to announce to the world that you two are together!? What if Hailey releases the DVD!?"

Reagan rolled her eyes, "Kennedy, the whole point of coming out on our terms was so that Hailey couldn't blackmail me anymore."

"Oh. Huh." Kennedy said, realizing that her own ordeal with Hailey thus had officially come to an end. Not that she had heard from her, Hailey had been MIA since the day Kennedy was caught snooping in her apartment.

"Anything else?"

"You look good in those pictures. You're pretty hot."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious. People love it. Girls especially. They think it's amazing Harry is dating a girl that looks like them."

Reagan blushed, a few months ago she wouldn't have believed Kennedy, but she was getting to a point in her life where she was realizing that if she didn't love herself, then what was the point? So she wasn't there yet, she was getting close. She didn't think about calories or if she looked fat. She was just living her life, a little more hectically, but certainly much happier than she had ever been. She was finally finding herself, learning to love who she was, and that was a rebellion in and of itself. Shy, timid, and seemingly perfect Reagan Bailey was finally breaking out of her shell...and into Hollywood with her pop star boyfriend. In reality, as picture perfect as it seemed, she was going from one extreme to another.

This wasn't her happy ending, not by a long shot. Sure, she fell in love and she began to see the beauty within herself, but things were only going to get harder from here on out. She wanted to believe she could do it, she really did, but just the thought of actually having to go out every single day with a body guard, with a perpetual feeling of being watched, and perhaps worst of all the thought of sacrificing her freedom, was making her break into hives. Sure she was beginning to come into her own, but what happens when that inevitable relapse occurs? What happens when the comments become to much, and the fans begin to hate her? When the boys spend months away, and it's only her facing harsh stares on her own? Love just wasn't that simple, especially with someone like Harry Styles. This wasn't some game or some quirky romantic comedy that would end all neatly tied up with a bow, this was her life, and it was seeming like it would be a perpetual battle of finding some stability amidst the chaos. 

"Reagan?"

Reagan tried to stop the raging thoughts within her head and tried to focus on Kennedy's voice, "Yeah?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Oh...no sorry, Kenz."

Kennedy sighed, "Dad said he was flying to Chicago tomorrow."

"What!?" She could almost hear Kennedy gulping and hesitantly asked, "Has he seen the pictures?"

"I don't know Rae, but would he be flying out if he hadn't?"

Reagan wanted to crawl into her bed and become one with her mattress. Life was definitely becoming way too complicated for her.

"His flight comes in at noon."

"Oh god."

"What?"

"Right after Good Morning America?"

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

Reagan didn't even bother answering, she just slowly—and dramatically—threw herself onto her bed and sighed. She was definitely beginning to regret not going to New York with the boys. 

"I'll talk to you before dad gets in, love you." Reagan said, hanging up the phone before Kennedy could even protest. She was going to have think of a good explanation for having ruined her entire career. And somehow, she knew saying it was "because she loved Harry Styles" was just not going to be enough.


	108. Chapter 108

As they finished their first set upon the GMA stage, Harry felt his heart race. He was giddy. Never had he been so excited to announce something to the world. Whereas Louis, well, he was a completely different story. 

"You okay?" Harry asked as he fiddled with his earpiece. 

Louis nodded, he was about to say something when they were directed to their seats. Louis went through the motions, shaking hands, making mindless chatter, smiling and waving at the fans below the stage, but his mind was far, far gone. He just wanted to get this over with, but at the same time, he knew it was only the beginning. 

Cleverly Reagan had managed to leak some hints about him potentially being a father only a few hours before the show. It gave them enough time to evade Lydia and to slowly take over the trending sections as well. He knew that the story was gaining traction though, could tell by the looks on the faces of some of the fans. But soon enough that would be over. Within the cue cards that had approved questions for the show was the question that would change everything. He had gotten lucky that Reagan was the one in charge of approving the questions for the interview, and that Lydia had been suspiciously busy. Perhaps the baby rumor was too far fetched for her to believe. Perhaps she was trying to prevent it from gaining more momentum. That would explain why she had been MIA for the past few days. But Reagan hadn't even heard from her, nor had the boys. Something was definitely up. 

"We're live in two." Someone shouted.

The boys began fixing their earpieces and Louis tried to keep calm. He had gotten Briana's blessing after all. She had said that the sooner they reveal it the better. So it was going to be fine, right?

"It's going to be okay." Harry muttered as he passed Louis and sat to the right of Liam. Their names had been taped to the back of their seats, and unsurprisingly Harry was not allowed to sit next to Louis. Reagan could only do so much. And although it had been about two years since Louis and Harry were not allowed to interact with each other, it hadn't ever bothered them until recently. Maybe it was the fact Zayn had left and Louis became a different person because of it, or because both of them were going through some serious shit and were depending on each other much more, but it really irked Louis right at that moment that his friend couldn't sit next to him. After this whole baby thing was over, he was going to make sure that he and Harry could sit where they please during interviews. No, more than that, he was going to make it clear that he and Harry are friends and that they were going to do as they pleased from now on. No more following management's instructions to keep appearences, those days were fucking over. 

Louis could see they were about to start. He wasn't a religious man, but he prayed that everything would work out for the best, and that above all he was making the right choice. He watched as the producer began counting down, and cleared his throat nervously.

"Alright we're live in five, four, three, two..."

It's showtime. 

—✴—

Reagan, had of course, turned on the TV since the moment she woke up—about four hours before the boys were about to be on. She hadn't slept, instead she had spent all night on twitter and Tumblr, making sure she had the right pictures being posted and the right information being leaked. Lydia was going to murder her, she had no doubt about it. But, at least she had taken on her first PR clients and made sure that she did what they believed was right for them. Not many PR agents could say that, could they?

She knew how nervous Louis was, could tell by the way he wasn't hitting his notes in the first set they put on, and by the fact that he kept looking to Harry. Yeah, she knew that was going to be a problem. How those boys had managed to live through the speculations and ridiculous labels she had no idea, but she had to give them props. She hoped that going foward he and Harry could certainly be more public about their friendship, she was going to make sure of it, actually.

But right now she was a tad more concerned with the fact that it had been reported that Zayn had ended his engagement with his fiance, Perrie Edwards, from Little Mix. She knew what it was going to look like. It was going to look like Louis was trying to overshadow Zayn's news (and obvious tactic to get into the headlines and stay relevant) just to spite him. For once that just wasn't the case. 

"—And we are here with One Direction! Let's here some noise!"

Reagan turned around sharply to face the TV. Her legs were shaking as she jumped for the remote and turned the volume up all the way. 

There before her were her boys, her boys. The past few months had made them all so much closer than she had ever imagined they would be. Not just with Harry, but with all of them. That's why now she so fiercely wanted to help them. She needed to know that they would make it out alright. Maybe then she would believe she would as well.

"Now the last time you were here, there were five of you." Began the male host right away. But the boys were ready to answer the Zayn questions, Reagan wasn't worried about that one bit. They were even quite charming about the whole questioning around dropping "Drag Me Down" in the middle of the night. It was when she heard the interviewer start saying,"Well, Harry." a few minutes later that her head snapped towards the screen once more, and she was faced with the beautiful female host batting her eyelashes at Harry a little too much for Reagan's liking. "We're all a little confused."

"About what?" He said innocently.

"Well, according to my daughter you have a girlfriend." She said, trying to sound ever so endearing. Yes, her five year old daughter was keeping her in the loop, Reagan totally believed that.

Harry laughed, "A little young to be keeping up with the gossip, isn't she?"

The host laughed, "Well, I was surprised when she pointed her out to me in a picture because it wasn't the girl you've been recently pictured with, is she?"

Harry shrugged, "I'm photographed a lot, you might need to be a little more specfic." He answered coyly.

The host signaled off camera and before Reagan appeared a picture of Hailey and Harry, but with her in the background writing something on her clipboard.

"Now, my daughter said you were dating the girl behind you and Hailey Stone. But we all thought you were dating Hailey."

He laughed, "We're good friends, is all. Sweet girl, really."

"But you do have a girlfriend."

"I reckon I do."

Reagan flushed, knowing what was coming next.

"Is she the other girl in the picture? Reagan Bailey, your Campaign Manager, am I right?"

He nodded, "Yes."

The crowd went wild as the host smiled smugly, thinking as if she finally got an exclusive out of the band. The other host quickly intervened though, seeing as they were runing out of time and still had other pressing matters to continue asking about. 

"So we have one One Direction boy off the market," He said motioning toward Harry, "But we're hearing there's a second one as well."

Louis nodded and smiled nervously, making the crowd "Awww" as they looked upon his embaressed face.

"But there's more to this story. Louis, from one father to another, I personally want to congratulate you on your upcoming fatherhood. How are you feeling about all of this? It must be so exciting."

There were screams, so many screams. Louis' face froze, but he quickly managed to compose himself, "Thanks, mate. I know it may come as a shock to many of our fans, but yes, I am going to be a father. It's been wicked, really. I'm completely in disbelief."

Reagan prayed that he would be able to hold it together, if only til the end of the interview. But just as she was going to continue watching, she heard a knock at her door. She figured it must've been Michael coming to pick her up to take her to the airport to meet her father, so she quickly went to the door and opened it without bother to check who it was because she was in such a rush to not miss anything the boys were saying. She regretted that decision instantaneously as she was faced with her father. 

"Hi, dad." She said, gulping.

He pushed his way past her and entered her room angrily, "We need to talk."


	109. Chapter 109

Reagan grew pale, she had to steady herself on the doorknob. It took her a second, but she managed to kind of get it together and shut the door behind her. 

"Dad, you're early."

"Flight wasn't delayed for once." He muttered, putting his suitcase down and sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs by Reagan's bed. He took off his navy suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. Once he was settled, he motioned for her to sit in front him, she unwillingly obliged. 

Truth be told she had been waiting for this moment for a while, she just didn't think it would come so soon. Reagan had always been the definition of a "good girl". She was a straight A student, never dated, never got into trouble. She was the golden child. So for her to pull a stunt like this, well she knew she was going to hear about it sooner than later. She just didn't expect it to be now. 

"Why did you come?" She asked, avoiding his stare.

"Well, hello to you too." He said sarcastically, checking his phone before looking at her once more, "I got a call from one of my clients, told me that my daughter is dating Harry Styles." He grimaced, "Which is funny because I remember explicitly telling her not to."

"Dad-"

He held up a hand to silence her, "Do you know the amount of people that are not only questioning your ethics, but mine as well?" Reagan stayed quiet, so he continued, "You're going to be out of a job soon, and I wouldn't blame your bosses for firing you on the spot. What you've done goes against everything that I stand for, and that I though you stood for."

"That's not fair."

"That's not fair?" He chuckled bitterly, "You know what's not fair? I have to clean up your mess now. Thanks to your little stunt this morning, my client is being burried in the trending section."

"So?" She asked, not really understanding what that had to do with anything. So what if she trumped Zayn? Wasn't her dad some big shot PR head?

"You don't get it." He said shaking his head angrily, "You weren't placed into that job to overshadow Zayn, Reagan."

She shook her head, "What?" Placed? Then it slowly started to click. "You got me that job, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. You didn't think it just came out of thin air, did you?" He said, rolling his eyes. 

"So then what?" She asked, "You got me that job so I would fail?"

"You don't think it was weird that you, an intern, would get promoted to be One Direction's campaign manager? Let's be real here, honey." He said in a sympathetic tone of voice. 

Reagan's head started spinning. Never would she have believed that her father could be so incredibly cruel. She had her doubts, of course she had. How could she, a college student, get the internship? The management position? She really had thought that she was amazing, that she was good enough for the job. It all made sense now. Her father had pulled his strings and manipulated everything for his client to get on top, regardless of crushing his daughter on the way there. 

"Maybe it's my fault for sparing your feelings. I should have let you konwn straight away what the plan was."

"You set me up?" She asked, her voice shaking. 

"No." He said, "Reagan, we just needed you to head One Direction's team to make sure that they wouldn't overshadow Zayn as he began coming up as a solo artist."

"You were sabatoging them?"

"They're all under the same label, sweetie.They're on their way out anyway."

"They're just going on a hiatus." She argued, but she could tell by the look on his face that that wasn't the case. 

"Indefinite hiatus."

"That just means they'll come back when they're ready, doesn't it?"

He shook his head, "Depends on the label, dear. And of course, if they'll even want to come back."

"Look, you surpassed my expectations, obviously. The boys are completely overtaking the media every week, they're still relevant. You've made my job that much harder. But Reagan, you're ruining your own career by dating that boy. Mark my words, all the work that you've done will be null and void once word get around about you two."

"I can make this work." She argued, already having been prepared for having to weather the storm.

"No firm in their right mind is going to hire someone who is known to date their clients. People may even begin to say you only got your job, or your promotion, because you're dating him! Reagan, I thought you were smarter than this."

"Dad." She said, looking at him head on for the first time, "I've made it this far. I'm sure I can-"

"What we need to do is to fix this mess."

"Dad-"

"I'll call your boss. What's her name? Lydia, right? The little bird-like woman?" He started looking through his phone for her contact information while Reagan tried to muster up the courage to tell him that she was going to figure this out. That he had already done more than enough. "She knows right? She must know by now. I saw it went viral after he announced it on that God awful talk show."

"Dad-"

"Hopefully today's a big news day. We could get your news to be basically irrelevant by the end of the d-"

"Dad!" Reagan yelled.

He looked at her as if she were insane, "What?" He asked, almost in disbelief.

"I don't want your help. I want to do this on my own. I can figure this out."

"Reagan you need-"

"No, you tried picking and choosing what I needed and what was good for me, and I was miserable! For the first time in my life I'm okay! I finally got to do what I thought was right for me, dad. I know you want me to become this huge PR person like you, and you don't want me to let you down, but I just-" She took a large breath, "I just need you to let me do this."

James Bailey looked at his daughter, he tried to forget his own anger, tried to forget the fact that he came to Chicago to fix the mistakes she had made. But he couldn't. He just couldn't do it. He couldn't let his daughter give up everything they had worked for over a stupid boy. 

"You can't do this alone." He finally said after a long pause.

"I'm not." Reagan said firmly, "I'm never doing it alone again."

—✴—

Things did not end well with her father, unsurprisingly. He had left right after their brief discussion, claiming that Reagan was still too naive to understand the business. She didn't care. For once, she just didn't care. She had made it this far. There was no way her father could have gotten her the Honda campaign, she had done that herself. And the way the boys were climbing the charts? She did that—with the boys of course. They were a team. 

"Reagan?" She heard a knock outside the door. It was Michael, of course. He had come to pick her up to take her to the Honda studio.

"I'm ready." She shouted, grabbing her bag. But just as she was about to open the door, she hesitated. She looked out the peephole instead of opening it without reservations, and found Michael, in a well tailored suit, patiently waiting behind the door. As she went to open the door, laughing at her own paranoia, her phone began to ring in her bag. She almost dropped it when she saw the caller ID.

She should have known today was going to be the day of uncomfortable conversations. Of course it fucking was. 

"Lydia?" She answered, attempting to exude an air of calmness.

"We need to talk."

"Yeah, I know I—"

"I'm flying in tonight. I'll see you then."

Before Reagan could even say anything else, Lydia hung up. But she was okay, whatever happened next, she was ready to face the consequences. Who was she to make the boys into people they weren't, to make herself into someone she hated? How could a PR person ever think that they're doing their client any good by forcing them into being someone they're just not?

Reagan finally composed herself and went to open the door, trying to make it look as if her entire world totally wasn't falling apart.

"You good?" Michael asked the moment he saw her.

"Yeah, yeah." She nodded, hiking her purse up onto her shoulder, "We should go."

"Just one tiny problem." He said, nervously looking up and down the hallway.

"What?"

"All of the exits are blocked."

"Aren't they usually?"

He nodded slowly, "Yeah, but uh...never this bad. You're quite popular."

Reagan sighed loudly, thanking God that the boys were coming back later. She just had to make it through the afternoon, that was it.

"We're going to try to sneak you out."

"And if it fails?" She asked wearily.

He shook his head, "It's do or die, Reagan. No failure accepted." 

She wanted to laugh at how corny he sounded, but this was just getting to be way too much for her, and it was only the beginning of the madness.


	110. Chapter 110

Harry had gotten the call from Lydia right after they got off stage. He hadn't been nervous, didn't think much of it. The only thing that had concerned him was the fact that Liam and Niall would be involved in this whole mess. Lydia didn't sound mad though, not by a long shot.

"What'd she say?" Liam asked, looking at him pretending not to be alarmed. He clearly was though. 

"Nothing." Harry said, taking off his floral print jacket and throwing it onto the couch that was in their dressing room.

"She couldn't have said nothing, mate."

He shrugged, "She's flying to Chicago, she'll meet us there tonight. Then she hung up."

"She just hung up?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah."

"She's fucking pissed."

"Well, yeah." Harry muttered, "Obviously."

Louis remained quiet thought, letting the boys banter and guess what horrible punishment Lydia was going to inflict on them and Reagan. Of course they were worried that Reagan would lose her job as well, but that seemed like a very bad strategy on Lydia's part.

Mostly though, Louis was worried about his baby. He kept thinking about what it would be like when he was born, and that maybe this hiatus thing wasn't coming at the worst time. Maybe he could finally just disappear off the face of the Earth and spare his son this circus of a life he had. 

"Lou?" Liam asked, trying to get his attention, "You alright?"

"Yeah Liam. I'm fine." He said in an exasperated tone.

"Doesn't sound like you're fine." Niall added. 

"Well, how would you feel?"

Niall flushed and turned back to face Harry, feeling dejected by Louis. 

"Don't be an arse." Harry frowned.

"I'm not. I just-"

"It's too much. We know." 

Both Liam and Niall nodded, of course they knew. Being a father was not going to be a breeze, especially not under the added pressures of being famous, but the boys thought that if anyone could do it, it would be Louis. And not just because he was the oldest either. 

"This blows." Niall said, throwing himself onto the leather couch. He sunk into it as he pouted. 

"Why are you upset?" Liam asked, looking up from his phone. 

"Everything is changing." Niall said with a furrowed brow, "Louis is going to be a dad, Harry's actually in love, we're going on a fucking hiatus, man. How can I not be upset."

"And Hailey still won't pay attention to you." Louis said, tipping the water bottle he had in his grasp toward Niall.

"Fuck me." He said dramatically. 

"Yes, your life is so fucking hard, Niall." Louis said, nodding sympathetically. 

"You sound like you're being sarcastic."

"Me?" Louis said bringing his hand to his chest, "No way."

Niall got up and flipped Louis off, "Don't we have a flight to catch?"

"Are you done reflecting on how terrible your life is?" Liam asked as he gathered his things. 

"Go to hell." Niall said, angrily stomping to the door and slamming it behind him. 

Louis laughed earnestly for the first time that day, "Oh God. We've upset him for real. Can you imagine if the paps get pictures of him storming towards the car by himself? "One Direction Break Up! Hiatus a Lie!""

"He definitely has no poker face." Liam said hiding his own smile. He hated making Niall upset. 

"Let's go then, we better go after him." Harry said, picking up his coat, grabbing his own water bottle and heading towards the door. 

"Yeah, yeah." Louis said, getting up as well. 

Liam led the way, but just as Harry was about to step out of the room he turned around to look at Louis, "We've got this, mate. It'll all work out."

Louis nodded, wishing he could believe Harry. But he knew that in order for everything to work out, something ultimately had to give. 

—✴—

Clearly Harry was unfazed by the fact that Lydia would be arriving in less than five minutes. Harry, actually, was more relaxed than Liam and Niall who really had done nothing to cause this mess. They wouldn't even be on Lydia's radar at this point though, she came with a hit list, and Harry and Louis were obviously at the very top. 

"Would you please stop fidgeting?" Louis pleaded Reagan as she kept moving in her chair. Harry had fallen asleep on the other side of the room, and Louis couldn't help but hate him at that moment for his complete and utter calmness. He figured it must've been the years of all his yogi bullshit, but knew that it was really from the fact that he knew he made the right choice. 

She frowned at him, "Sorry."

"It's fine." He said sympathetically, completely understanding why she was on edge. He as well was about to go up a wall, but somehow he managed to stay relatively calm...or at least look it. 

Niall shook his head, "Me and Liam shouldn't even be here. This is a mess the lot of you made, not us."

Liam punched him in the shoulder, "We're a team," He turned to look at Reagan and wearily smiled, "All of us."

Reagan appreciated the sentiment, but she would have appreciated it much more if she wasn't about to barf. Niall on the other hand just couldn't take the hint to just leave it alone, "That doesn't mean I'm taking one for Louis or Harry. Especially not from Lydia."

"We stick together." Liam said firmly, not liking the fact that this was the second time in one day that they see Niall's bad side.

"Whatever."

Just as Liam was about to respond, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. 

"It's probably Michael." Reagan muttered as she got up. 

She checked through the peephole, and in fact, it was Michael once again. She opened the door, only to have him say, "She's here."

"Where?" Reagan asked.

"Still in the lobby, she's coming up though. Thought I'd give you all the heads up."

"Thanks." Reagan nodded solemnly. She shut the door behind her and began counting down. Facing her dad was nothing compared to facing Lydia. At least, that's what it seemed like now. 

"You okay?" Louis asked. He had heard that phrase enough for one day, it felt nice to actually ask it instead for once. He didn't ask it in vain either, Kennedy had told him earlier that day that their father was flying all the way to Chicago to personally talk to Reagan about everything that had gone down. That is, before the whole Good Morning America thing. She hadn't responded to him after the fact, he didn't expect her to for a while. 

Reagan nodded, "I'm fine." She was okay as she could possibly be. She wished she was as okay as her snoring boyfriend in the corner, but he was a special case. 

"We should probably wake him up." Louis said, ruffling his own hair. 

"Yeah, probably."

She watched as Louis nudged Harry awake. She knew that without a doubt Lydia was already on the elevator, going up, getting out on their floor. She was sure that the way her mind was racing and her heart was beating was indicative of a heart attack, or a stroke, or something. But somehow she wasn't passing out, she was still on her own two feet. 

"Reagan?" She looked up to see Liam's pensive Hazel eyes staring at her inquisitively.

"Yeah?"

"Shouldn't you open the door, love?"

She could feel all of the boys staring at her, wondering if she was actually okay. She hoped she was, she hoped she would be. She knew that once she opened that door, a whole new time was going to be upon them. Either she was about to begin her life as disgraced PR agent Reagan Bailey, or this was going to be the start of another chaotic adventure. Either way, she knew one thing for sure: The boys were going to be there for her no matter what. And as cheesy and weird as that may have sounded to her months back, right now it was the only thing keeping her on her own two feet. She had a team, and that team was going to fight to the very end.


	111. Chapter 111

The world was not ending, Reagan had to keep reminding herself that as she opened the door and welcomed Lydia into her hotel room. The world was not ending, her life was not over, and eventually, she would make it out alright. The keyword here was eventually. 

"Lydia." Harry said, a cheeky smile upon his face, "Did you fly all the way out here for us?"

Lydia looked at him head-on, her lips a straight line upon her sharp face, "You know exactly why I came here."

"Why is that?" Louis said, obviously with a death wish. 

"You're both on a mission to ruin yourselves." Lydia said, in an eerily calm voice, looking at Harry and Louis from her seat, "And you know what? I wouldn't have a problem with that normally, I truly wouldn't. But what you're doing is affecting the entire band. It's affecting everyone around you," She looked at Reagan pointedly and then turned back to face them, "And it's affecting me." The boys said nothing, so Lydia continued, "And you know what boys, I always have rooted for you. I truly have. But I can't be a part of your team if you keep excluding me. I can't help you when you don't tell me what's happening, and I can't live like this anymore."

"Lydia we just-" Reagan tried, but she was promptly cut off. 

"After you boys go on your hiatus, I'm putting in my resignation."

"What!?" The boys exclaimed in unison.

"I can't do this anymore. The lot of you have run me ragged."

Louis almost jumped from his seat, "Lydia, love, come on now."

"You especially." She continued, pointing at Louis, "You have, from day one, been the most difficult person I have ever worked for."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration-"

"Is it? Is it really? Can you blame me?"

Louis shook his head solemnly, "No ma'm I can't."

"Lydia, we just-"

"You're sorry, right? You're sorry again for pulling some stupid stunt because you couldn't get your head out of your asses for five minutes. You're sorry you lied to me, again, but more importantly," She said, taking a breath, "You're sorry that you've pushed me to my breaking point. Have I got it all right?"

Louis looked flushed as he nodded, "Yeah, yeah...that's pretty much it."

"Well," Lydia said getting up, "Sorry but that doesn't cut it anymore."

As they watched her head for the door, Liam asked, "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Already?"

"I have said my peace." She said, opening the door, "I'll see you all back in LA." 

Reagan looked at the boys. She could see the regret on their faces. They hadn't meant for this to happen. They just wanted to do things their way for once. Lydia deserved to know it wasn't their fault. If it was anyone's fault it was hers for letting them pull such stupid stunts. So before any of the boys could stop her, Reagan made the decision the follow Lydia. 

She ran down the hallway, praying that the elevator was running slow per usual. As she rounded the corner she saw Lydia about to go through the silver doors, so she screamed, "Wait!"

Reagan almost fell into the elevator, her heel had gotten caught on the door track, but luckily Lydia had managed to catch her before she killed herself.

"Oh god." She said, picking herself up off of Lydia. How she hadn't squashed the small and fragile woman was astounding to her. 

"What is it, Reagan?" Lydia said tiredly, pushing Reagan out of the way to push the 'main floor' button. Reagan swiftly turned back to the metallic panel and hit the emergency 'stop' button. Lydia sighed loudly, "What are you holding me hostage now?"

"I just need you to listen."

"Listen to what? I already know everything. Now I need to meet with the Honda people, Reagan, I can't be late."

"Lydia, look, it's not their fault."

"What, are you going to say it's yours?"

"Well, yeah."

"Reagan, I don't care that you're dating Harry. That was of no surprise to me."

Reagan's jaw almost dropped, "What?"

"Why do you think I brought Hailey in? I didn't want you getting distracted. You have some real potential, Reagan. I didn't want to see it get ruined by your first real client."

"Why didn't you say you knew?"

"Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" Lydia retorted, Reagan simply blushed, "Trust is a two way street, Reagan."

"I'm sorry." 

Lydia nodded, "I know. You're young, you're in love. It happens. Believe me, it always happens. Now, for the client to actually announce it to the world? That is a rather rare occurrence. One that most PR agents would advise against."

"We were between a rock and a hard place." Reagan shrugged.

"Oh?"

As much as Reagan disliked Hailey, she just didn't feel right giving her up to Lydia. Hailey still had a career in front of her, Reagan figured. She was still young, she was still naive. They both were. So for now, she would put what happened in the past. She had bigger problems now anyway. Instead she chose to say, "We were stupid. We got careless and someone got proof that we were dating. They started blackmailing me, so Harry and I thought the best option would be for us just to come forward."

"Blackmailing you how?"

"It doesn't matter." Reagan said shaking her head, "It's all over now."

"You've put your reputation on the line." Lydia said, "Are you sure he was worth it?"

Reagan was sure he was. God, she never imagined she would think that way. She never actually wanted to become that type of girl. But she knew, she knew, that what she had done, she would not come to regret. 

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, at least that sort of worked itself out. What about Louis, how's he holding up."

"Not too great."

"It's a lot." Lydia nodded, "Took me aback, I must admit." 

"But?"

Lydia smiled, "But I have a plan."

"That's what I suspected." Reagan smirked.

"Oh, no. Don't you get cocky," Lydia said wagging a finger in Reagan's direction, "Just because I'm having a civilized conversation with you does not mean that I'm not mad. I am furious, with all of you."

"I know." 

"Just because I knew what was going on with you and Harry doesn't mean I approved."

"Yes, I know."

"And if you all think you got away with another mess-"

"We don't."

Lydia rolled her eyes, "I know you do."

"Those boys are terrified you're actually leaving them, Lydia. They don't think they got away with anything."

"But you do?"

Reagan shook her head. Of course she didn't. But once she got over herself and realized that yes, Lydia was on their side, and that she had always been on their side, she realized that she could have avoided this whole fucking mess if she had just been honest. But Lydia was her superior, that's how she saw her. Right now though, Lydia was a person. She was a vital part of their team. She was not the person Reagan should have been afraid of all along, she should have been the person she confided in. 

"No, I don't."

"Good." 

"Good?"

"If you all feel like shit and actually think I was quitting, then that's good enough for me."

"What!?"

"Like I'm letting you off that easy." She scoffed, "All of you have been getting on my last nerve. At least you've had a good head on your shoulders. Who knows where those idiots would be without you this year."

"I-"

Lydia shushed her, "Look, you're all adults. I didn't step in because yes, like you, I wanted them to make their own decisions for once. I wanted them to feel as if they weren't being totally manipulated by the label. I wanted all of you to learn how to fend for yourselves, to an extent, don't get me wrong, I'm not insane. I know better than to give full reign to Louis and Harry." She chuckled, "I was always managing things in the background, Reagan. I was always aware of what was happening, even if all of you thought you were pulling a fast one on little old Lydia. Remember that, you always have to be ahead of the game in this business, but you also have to remember that those boys, they're just people. They're not the people we try to sell, they're their own person. Just like you and me. Fame can ruin anyone, just like the pressures of this hellish job can ruin us. But if you to put your heart into, if you actually become a team, you'll make it through. And you my dear," She said with a very fond smile, "You put your heart into everything you do. Don't ever let that change. Those boys and us, as chaotic as it may be, we make the greatest team the world has ever seen."

Reagan could feel herself tearing up, but held it back. The last thing she needed was a scolding from Lydia for crying at her kind words. 

"What? have I struck a chord?" Lydia asked knowingly.

"It's just, it's been a rough day, you know?"

Lydia nodded, "My speech didn't compare to your dad's did it?"

"How did you-"

"I know everything, Reagan. What did I just say?"

"So did he really get me this job?"

Lydia shook her head, "He may have recommended you, to put it nicely, but I am a woman who chooses candidates based on their skills and character. And you were truly the best candidate."

"Yeah?"

"And if you think otherwise then you're not the girl I thought you were."

"No-no. Than-Thank you." Reagan stuttered, "Really, thank you, Lydia. Thank you for everything."

"Don't thank me just yet, we have quite a mess to clean up and I doubt you'll be thanking me when you're tearing your hair out at four in the morning." She leaned over and pressed a button making the elevator come to life. It quickly got into gear to finally leave Lydia on the main floor, "Now, I'm running late to talk to Daniel at Honda. He tells me your work is quite impressive. Thought you had already graduated from college."

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to reveal the extravagant lobby. Lydia turned one last time to say to Reagan, "The boys cannot know I'm staying. I want to punish them until they get back to LA. Consider it my own personal revenge." She winked, slipping on her sunglasses, "I'll email you as to what you're doing next. See you in a few days back at the studio."

The door wooshed and closed, and before Reagan could even bother to press the number to get back to her floor, she had to lean against the cold metal and take a deep breath.

Everything was going to be okay. Everything was going to work out. She wasn't alone, but even if she was, she was a brilliant woman with her whole life in front of her. 

For the first time she told herself everything was going to work out, maybe not according to plan, but everything happened for a reason. All those cliched sayings her mother and Kennedy would fill her with were suddenly bubbling to the surface, and for the first time she wasn't rolling her eyes or sighing in frustration at the optimistic phrases. For the first time she believed them. 

Everything happened for a reason, Reagan was sure of that now.


	112. Chapter 112

Kennedy didn't even call, she just showed up in front Hailey's apartment and began ringing the bell fervently. It was already noon, but knowing Hailey, she was probably still asleep. Not that she blamed her, not now. Had Reagan been home Kennedy would be wrapped under her covers being spoon fed ice cream, but then again, she was just as mad at Reagan. Well, not just as mad, the anger she had towards Louis was a fury she had never felt before. So yeah, she couldn't be alone right now. But more importantly, the guilt of having done what she did to Hailey was eating away at her. Hailey was actually kind of cool to hang out with, as much as she hated to admit it. 

Kennedy kept ringing the door bell, but Kennedy had the feeling Hailey just wasn't going to come out. So she ceased her incessant ringing and turned to leave, but to her surprise a fully functioning Hailey angrily swung the intricately decorated wooden door open. 

"What in the actual hell?"

Kennedy shrugged, "I needed to talk to you."

"Why would I want to talk to you."

"Hailey, I'm sorry, okay?" Kennedy sniffled.

"Oh, so now you're sorry?" Hailey said, leaning against the doorway, clearly uninterested.

Kennedy continued nonetheless though,"I'm sorry that I lied to you about being your friend, about the DVD, about everything." She took a breath and mumbled, "I kind of miss you."

"What? Are you serious?"

Kennedy nodded. She didn't know what had gotten into her after she had watched Louis make that announcement on Good Morning America, but she needed to talk to someone. Not Reagan, not Louis, but Hailey. She needed to talk to her. 

"I just..." She was losing her nerve. She had never honestly done something like what she had done to Hailey, and she had regretted from the moment she had done it. As horrible as a person as Hailey may be, she was still just that, a person, "I'm sorry."

"You said that already."

"Yeah, well, I was a pretty shitty person to you. You didn't deserve that."

Hailey looked away and shook her head, "No, I did. I was...I was a really shitty person to your sister. If I were you I would've done much worse. If anyone should be saying sorry it should be me...to Reagan." 

Kennedy nodded, feeling as if they were indeed coming to a mutual understanding. So she asked, "Did you watch the boys on Good Morning America?"

Hailey nodded, "Yeah," She looked Kennedy up and down and could tell by her sweats and unkempt hair that she was a complete and utter mess, and boy did she know that feeling,"You want to come in and talk about it?"

Kennedy sighed a breath of relief and walked in, there was nothing more she wanted to do than to have a good cry and vent about the stupid boys of One Direction with Hailey. Other than maybe punch Louis in the face, but that could come later. 

—✴—

"You like him, don't you?" Hailey asked, breaking the silence that had inevitably formed between them. Not that she had minded. Her apartment had felt incredibly lonely since she and Kennedy had fallen out. Having her back was more than welcomed, even though she knew they would have to both work hard to attempt to salvage what was left of their relationship. 

Kennedy nodded, "I don't even know why. You know, it's stupid, isn't it?"

"Why?"

"Because, I thought I was totally in love with him before I even met him."

"You were in love with the idea of him." Hailey clarified. Kennedy shuddered at the fact Hailey sounded exactly like Reagan.

"I mean, yeah. But...I don't know. It turns out the real him tops the idea of him, and now I think I'm even more in love with him than ever. But he's having a baby. He's having a baby with another girl and he didn't even bother to tell me." Kennedy attempted to catch her breath, but instead tears began streaming down her face. She didn't understand what was wrong with her. She had never gotten this way about a boy. She was always in control. But this time, this time was different, and it scared her. 

Hailey didn't know what to say, so instead she said nothing and placed her soft hand upon Kennedy's. Kennedy nodded and smiled, her cheeks still damp and her eyes still threatening to shed more tears.

"What do I do?"

Hailey shrugged, "You've come to the wrong person. I obviously have no idea what I'm doing with my love life."

"And I'm any better at this?"

"Well, you've definitely got it worse, I'll tell you that."

"Gee, thanks." Kenned grimaced. 

"Hey, if I made a totally one-eighty, so can you."

"How long did it take you?"

"I don't even know."

"Like two weeks?"

"Why does it matter?"

"If I have it worse than you then it's going to take at least double the time it took you to get over it."

"Maybe even triple."

"You're not helping."

"We'll he's having a baby! At least Harry and Reagan probably haven't even slept together yet." Kennedy gave her a knowing glance and Hailey almost screamed, "Please tell me they haven't slept together yet."

"That's really none of our business." Kennedy said, taking a sip from the bottle of water in front of her. 

Hailey tried to swallow the disgust that was bubbling within her and said, "You know what, you're right. It's not my business."

"Wow."

"What?"

"Well, when you talk like that it's almost like you're completely over him."

"Which I am."

"Right."

Hailey pouted, but quickly regained her composure, "You know what, we shouldn't even care about boys right now. What have they done for us? Nothing! They've done nothing but ruin our lives! Look at me!" She said dramatically pointing to her face, "My skin is dull, I have bags under my eyes, and my pores are huge. I've been letting myself go for some idiot?"

Kennedy wanted to get in the spirit, but she wasn't at the spiteful stage yet. In fact, she hadn't even talked to Louis. She needed to talk to him before she could make any decision as to how she would approach their relationship. She certainly didn't want their to be some kind of misunderstanding as there was between Harry and Hailey. But then, how Harry could have possibly thought that everything would be perfect between him and Hailey after he had chose Reagan was beyond Kennedy. Perhaps he really just was that oblivious. 

"It would be nice if we could always get the person we fancy." Hailey said, leaning back in her seat and taking her cold glass of tea in her manicured hand, "But maybe life doesn't work like that for a reason."

"What reason is that?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to say." Hailey sighed, "But anyway. My point is that maybe we don't need anyone else to be happy. Maybe we just have to try being happy with ourselves first."

"That's smart."

"I had a lot of therapy last week." Hailey muttered with an embarrassed look upon her face, "At least it looks like it stuck this time."

"So you're really over Harry?"

"Oh god, no. Of course not. But maybe he just wasn't meant to be. I'm trying to accept it, isn't that the important thing?"

"Are you telling me to just move on?"

"I'm telling you to do whatever you think is right. For me, it was moving on. For you, honestly...I don't know."

Kennedy nodded, "I don't know either. What if...what if it could happen?"

"Look at what's happening to your sister right now. You know she's trending everywhere, right? It's not all bad, but it's not all good either."

"Yeah, I know."

"Now imagine adding a baby into that mix. Imagine being the other woman. Could you really handle that?"

Kennedy wanted to say she could. That she was above those things, that she could delete her social media accounts like Reagan. That she could hold her head high and strong and be like her older sister. But could she really? 

She realized that shouldn't even be the question at this point. She clearly knew that Louis didn't see her in that way, especially not now. So why was she mad? Did she even have the right to get mad at him? As a friend, maybe. He did lie to her. But she wasn't anything more than that. Maybe she never would be. 

"It doesn't matter." Kennedy finally answered, "He doesn't see me in the same way I see him. But thanks, I really needed to talk to someone."

"Don't mention it. Like, seriously, please don't mention it...to anyone."

Kennedy chuckled, "Yeah, I know."

"Now, I have a couple pints of Ben and Jerry's from last weeks' mental breakdown, what do you say we split it and watch some bad TV."

Kennedy nodded fervently, looked like she was getting spoon fed ice cream after all. And that maybe, just maybe, she and Hailey had a future after all.


	113. Chapter 113

Just as Lydia had predicted, Reagan sat in front of her computer at four in the morning—for the third night in a row—attempting to salvage what was left of Louis' reputation. She had given up on sleeping, she had a flight to catch to return LA in less than four hours anyway. 

Rumors had begun swirling about Louis though. Whether that it was a one night stand, that his impending fatherhood meant the end of the band or that worst of all he was ordering a DNA test before legally acknowledging his son. But how could she even attempt to counter all of these rumors when Louis was dodging any and all questions she asked him? She was good at her job, but she wasn't that good. 

Louis had completely shut down, he was a mess. She couldn't blame him though, he'd totally been through the wringer. But God, you would think he could at least help out a little. They were, after all, attempting to keep him from being completely defamed by the media. But no, he was currently locked on their tour bus, at their stop in Indianapolis, refusing to get off. It was a miracle they had performed, but it went without saying he was not himself on stage. 

All of the boys remained by his side, at least that's what Harry had texted Reagan earlier that night. He had assured her that they would sleep "in that bloody tour bus" for as long as Louis needed. It made Reagan nervous though, because even though the boys were a family, there was only so much drama they could take. She was sure Niall was having a fit at having to sleep on the cramped bus. But lately, all Niall seemed to do was throw fits. Perhaps it was the fact that he knew it was all ending soon. She wondered if the other boys were acting out of sorts as well, well other than Louis. Liam seemed to be alright, Harry was as well. Maybe they hadn't accepted it yet. Maybe it didn't seem real. But all Reagan could think was how her father had said that their break was indefinite, how the label might not even resign them. How they themselves may not even want to come back. It scared her. She couldn't imagine how it would scare them. 

For now though, she tried to focus on the positive. In order for her to be able to spin things her way, she needed to remain optimistic. Reagan wasn't sure if Louis make it out alright. She didn't know if any of them would, including herself. But if she looked at all the pros instead of the cons, the boys' hiatus was looking better than it ever had. 

—✴—

Surprisingly things were rather calm when Reagan finally got back to the studio. The boys weren't back yet, they were just about to touch down in LA. They had one of their final recording sessions with Julian, and Reagan knew that the room would be filled with a nervous tension when they arrived. From what Harry had texted her that morning, Julian had decided to drag them off of the tour bus and into a mattress lined hotel room to finally them finish writing the last song off of their album. But she had to hand it to Julian, she knew he had been having trouble getting them to write that particular song. But it was done, it was over. Now they just had to record it and do a final listen of every track. Reagan was in disbelief. Within a month they would be done with their fifth studio album, almost done with their tour, and officially one step closer to their hiatus. And with that, she would (hopefully) get her life back would be going back to college for her final semester.

But did she really want her old life back? She was finally kind of getting it together. Now, she wasn't saying she had it all figured it out, not by a long shot. All of this had been a whirlwind without a doubt. They hadn't made it unscathed, of course not, that was life. Yet she was changing, slowly but surely. She had her good days and she had her bad days, it was a work in progress. She was making her peace with herself, or at least attempting to. As were the boys, she realized. It had been a tough year all around.

"Boys aren't here yet?" Lydia asked, coming out of her office.

"Nope. Should be here within the hour though."

Reagan was clacking away busily on her computer, drafting a statement to release to the press about Louis' situation as Lydia stood before her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and asked, "You haven't told them right? The whole 'I'm not quitting' thing."

Reagan shook her head. She had barely spoken to any of the boys, other than Harry of course. 

"Good. Perfect." She said, checking her phone. Lydia looked up at Reagan and asked, "You okay?'

Reagan smiled slightly. Things had changed between her and Lydia, at least it felt that way. While Lydia was still her extremely frazzled and methodical self, she seemed to be a little bit more open with Reagan, and in turn Reagan truly felt as if she could now speak to her boss relatively freely, "Yeah, just tired."

"And it's only beginning." Lydia replied, sitting down beside Reagan.

"Or ending, right?"

Lydia cocked an eyebrow, "What, you think because the boys are going hiatus we are too?"

"No..?"

"Reagan, we're not done here. They may go on hiatus, they may go their separate ways, but our jobs will be to make sure that they still have somewhere to come back to."

"So...I still have a job?"

"What, you thought I was going to fire you after all we've been through?"

"Well, I mean, I don't know. Originally this was just an internship," She shrugged, "and if they go on hiatus..."

Lydia shook her head, "A hiatus isn't forever, and knowing these boys we have our work cut out for us."

Reagan nodded, but quickly added, "I'm going back to school this fall."

"Not a big deal. You work part-time. You can do that, right?"

"Yeah, yeah of course." She tried to go back to her work, trying to get Lydia to move along. She didn't want to be rude, but she did have kind of a lot to do. 

Lydia though, continued, "But if you and Harry don't work out, I don't want it to affect your work. You know there are rules about dating clients in the workplace, don't you?"

"Yes." Reagan flinched, wishing she really didn't have to have this conversation right now.

"Were you briefed about them?"

She shook her head, no one probably ever thought that issue would arise with her. Hell, even she didn't expect it to. 

Lydia smirked, "They're within your employee handbook, Reagan."

"I never thought that clause would apply to me."

"I don't think any of us did."

"Ouch."

"That's not what I meant, don't be dramatic."

"So why...why don't you fire me?"

Lydia shrugged, "I like you. You're good at your job and I can trust you...for the most part. I need someone I can trust, other than Paul, because obviously I can't trust those boys."

"That is very true." 

"Don't disappoint me then. You may be good at your job, but that doesn't mean you should have to dig yourself out of a hole every other day. Don't ruin your potential because of some boy, as charming and good hearted as he may be."

Reagan tried not to roll her eyes, and instead chose to focus on her ridiculous Hello Kitty ring. While Lydia may have been right in a way, she knew that being with Harry would not ruin her. She was her own person, with or without him. She may love him, but she was also cognizant of her decisions and their repercussions. She was starting to wonder if people thought he would ruin her because he was famous or because he was a boy...or both. What if she was the one who would ruin him? Or better yet, what if they built each other up and became the best versions of themselves possible? Why did he have to be her end all? He wasn't. At least, she didn't think so. He was just a boy. A stupid, lanky, hipster twig boy, who may have stars in his eyes and love in his voice, but who was a boy regardless. She loved him, she loved him for who he truly was and regardless of the same fact. 

She used to think that love was like in all those books she had read and movies she had watched with Kennedy, she just didn't know better. And she didn't know if what she and Harry had was indeed love, but what they had was both nothing like what she had imagined and so much better than her wildest dreams. She would never regret choosing not only him, but herself. For in finally doing what she wanted, she had chosen herself. She had chosen to allow herself to love, to allow herself to be happy. She chose herself, and there wasn't anything wrong with that. 

"Have you stayed away from your mentions?" Lydia asked, a touch of concern in her voice.

"My sister deleted all of my social media accounts a while ago."

"Smart girl. But, you do know we will need you to reactivate them."

Reagan sighed, "To make me look more approachable? More like a person and not just the person behind One Direction?"

"To give you your own voice, Reagan. People want to know what you're thinking, what you're saying, what you're wearing!"

"No they don't."

"You haven't read a thing that people have been saying about you, have you?"

Reagan was scared to. She was scared that it would send her into a downward spiral and that she would be catapulted back into that dark place she believed she had finally made it out of. 

Lydia took a hold of Reagan's laptop and typed Reagan's name into the search engine. The first things that popped up were inevitably, 

Harry Styles Confirms New Girlfriend 

Reagan Bailey? Who is Harry Styles' New Flame?

Harry Styles' New Charity Case

Reagan cringed, but the moment that Lydia began opening up the comment sections and scrolling down to the most liked comments, her eyes almost welled with tears. 

"What is this?" Reagan said, reading the words upon the screen in disbelief.

Lydia smiled, "You can't buy PR like this, dear. Your love story has inspired millions. Those girls look up to you, they love Harry even more, and our overall numbers are through the roof."

"What, because of me?"

"No, not just you. But you have to admit, these girls are conditioned to believe that they have to look a certain way to date a celebrity, or even their own little crushes. But here you are, beautiful in your own right, showing these girls that all you need to be is yourself."

"No...I...I mean these articles aren't even all...nice. That one's calling me his project." She said, her voice shaking with anger.

"We both know there's no such thing as bad press."

For the first time Reagan had to really hold her tongue. So as Lydia kept listing the reasons as to why these articles were actually an incredibly great thing, Reagan continued scrolling down, trying to tell herself that the ugly comments, just as the overly praiseful comments, were to be taken with a grain of salt. She wasn't crumbling, she wasn't wavering. She was still firm in her resolve. But what got to her was the fact that she was going to be some kind of pity story. That Harry had fallen for her, and the ever lucky Reagan Bailey had snatched one of the good ones. It bothered her to no extent, but then again she wasn't a PR person for nothing. She was going to spin this. She didn't know how, but she refused to let the media manipulate the headlines. 

"So I am going to need you to reactivate your accounts. But lets give it sometime. Maybe sometime next month? Hmmm." Lydia said as she pulled up her calendar and nodded, "That sounds good actually, right around the time we release the album name." She began getting up, cell phone still in hand, when she suddenly remembered, "Oh. I have the boys' schedule for after the tour. You won't have much traveling to do, I know you're in school, but I do need you to make sure things go off without a hitch. I'll be on site, of course, but I am still expecting you to manage social media."

"Got it."

"On top of your own accounts. I can trust you with that, right? No funny business?"

"None."

"And you have to keep me updated on everything."

"I'm not leaving, yet, Lydia."

"I know, I know. Everything is just passing us by so fast."

"That I completely and totally agree with."

Lydia let out a sigh and shook her head, "We've certainly chosen a hell of a career."

"And quite the band to work with."

"I wouldn't have it any other way though." 

Reagan knew she wouldn't either, she wouldn't change one single thing. The media and the world be damned.


	114. Chapter 114

Hailey didn't plan it. She was on one of those five steps to rehabilitation deals and was on one of the final steps: asking for forgiveness. She knew the kind of person she was and knew that if she were to plan it she would never do it. So one day, she swallowed her pride, put on her Ruby Woo lipstick, and marched her way up to Reagan's office. She had made sure that the boys wouldn't be there, strictly because she was avoiding seeing Harry for as long as she possibly could. She knew she had to make amends with him, even if he didn't necessarily think badly of her. Because of course he didn't, and that made her feel even worse. 

She didn't bother knocking on the door, already knowing that Reagan was in. She just walked through the door in her typical Hailey fashion. 

"Hailey?" Reagan said she was in the middle of making a cup of coffee at the make-shift coffee bar by the door. 

"Yeah." Hailey said, realizing her tone was totally still condescending by the look of Reagan's face and made a note of taking it down a notch, "Hi." She tried again. 

"Hey." Reagan nodded, stirring her mug, "What's up? We weren't expecting you in til next week." She tried to keep the conversation as normal as possible. She hadn't seen Hailey in a while, and knew that the last time they had spoken things had been...well they had been rather off. 

"I...I came to talk to you." Hailey said, almost shyly. 

Her demeanor threw Reagan completely off guard, "...Oh?"

"Yeah. Can we sit?" She said, pointing to the large couch beside the coffee bar. 

Reagan nodded, "Of course, you want a cup of coffee or tea?" She said, pointing at the already warmed up coffee maker.

Hailey shook her head, the last thing she needed was the rush of caffeine making her more nervous than she already was. 

"So..." Reagan started, looking at the mug in her hands.

"I...I just wanted to say that I said a lot of horrible things to you and I-"

Reagan held up her hand as if to stop her, "It's okay. I mean, it's not. But I get it."

"You get that I was a totally shitty person to you?"

Reagan nodded, "I do. I mean, I've had to deal with this my entire life, so it wasn't anything new or anything."

"And that makes it okay?"

"No, not really."

"Then let me fucking apologize." Hailey said, a smile breaking through her tough exterior.

Reagan laughed, "Okay."

Hailey took a breath, "Alright. Reagan, I'm sorry for being such a shitty person to you. You didn't deserve that. I'm sorry for blackmailing you, and for just saying all those terrible things to you."

Reagan nodded taking a sip from her mug, "Alright."

"Alright? That's it?"

"What do you want, Hailey? A medal for apologizing?"

"I don't know. Something would be nice."

"You get the feeling of knowing you're becoming a better person."

"Yeah, whatever."

Reagan smiled to herself. Hailey was slowly coming around. Maybe this whole experience would actually teach her something as well. 

"How are you and Harry doing?"

"Why, are you one the millions that's rooting for us to break up?"

"Millions?" Hailey scoffed, "You mean one of the hundreds. All of those girls love you. You're more famous than me at this point."

Reagan blushed, "Stop."

"Publicity like yours cannot be bought. I mean just look at me, a prime example of what happens when you try to buy your own love story."

"I didn't do it for the publicity, Hailey."

"Yeah, I know." She said, rolling her eyes, "You did it for love." Hailey's voice cracked, and she looked away from Reagan. It still hurt, without a doubt it still hurt that after everything she wasn't the one that Harry wanted. But she wasn't meant for him, she was meant for other things, for better things. At least, that's what everyone kept telling her. Eventually she'd truly believe it, for right now though she would just repeat that mantra. 

You were meant for better things. You were meant for better things. You were meant for better things.

Eventually she'd find those things, but for now, she would try making amends and starting over. At least, she hoped she could start over with them. 

"Does Harry know, you know...about the whole blackmailing thing?"

Reagan nodded hesitantly, "Yeah, I uh, I told him."

She sighed loudly, a blush creeping onto her face, "Why did I do this. I seriously fucked up royally." Hailey almost felt like crying. The shame she felt was pretty great, something she didn't know she could ever possibly feel. Dissapointing people was actually the worst thing ever, she came to realize now. 

"You'll be okay." Reagan said, covering Hailey's hand with her own. Hailey tried not to look disgusted at the physical contact, because in fact it was actually quite endearing and it was something she didn't know she was yearning for. So she let Reagan cover her hand and sat there wondering what exactly this whole thing meant. She was new at the friend thing, Kennedy knew that. But she was really trying, "Harry doesn't even think differently of you. You know, he tried defending you."

"Did he?"

Reagan nodded, "I was mad, he was...okay. That made me madder, but we both know how he is."

"Thanks." Hailey said, smiling up at Reagan. 

"Anytime."

—✴—

After a half hour of what Hailey believed to be girl talk, and plans set in place for what would ultimately be quite the awkward lunch next week, she made her way back to the elevators with a smile affixed to her face. As she was checking her phone the elevator doors opened, and of course, because she was not paying attention she did not realize there was someone inside. Instead she stepped right in, knocking the person who was attempting to come out right onto his skinny butt.

"Oh God!" Hailey said, realizing that she had hit him so hard that he actually toppled right onto the cold, hard, ground. 

"I'm fine!" Harry muttered. "Used to it by now." Hailey offered him her hand and he of course graciously took it, hopping back onto his feet and rubbing his sore backside within an instant.

"I'm sorry!" She said, covering her own face from the sheer embarrassment, not only from knocking him down but from the fact that this was the first time she saw him since he had left her at that restaurant all those weeks ago. Sure, he might have seen her in passing, but she had made sure to make it explicitly clear that she did not want to be approached. And that's how things went. But now, now she didn't know what to do.

"It's okay, Hails. It's okay." He said smiling his dopey, dimpled smile and running a hand through his hair. 

"No, I mean.." The elevator swooshed closed and the sudden sound unnerved her more, making her jump. Unsteady already from nerves, adrenaline, and god knows what else, she almost fell over, had it not been for Harry's strong grip keeping her steady. She blushed as she saw his hand upon her arm, keeping her upright.

"Looks like we're both klutzes, aren't we?"

She shook her head, trying to regain her composure, "Oh no you don't Styles, don't you try to compare my one little misstep to your lifetime of face-planting."

He laughed loudly, "Oh ho ho, we're back to normal I see."

"Not quite, but almost." She shrugged, taking a step back from him. His sweet smell of cologne was engulfing her senses and making it a tad to hard to focus. Not to mention the fact that she was looking at him head on from such a close distance.

"Had me worried there, Hails." He said patting her back, "I'm glad we're almost back to normal." He pushed the button, and as if willed by his charm the elevator opened within a few quick seconds. Hailey tried to say 'I'm sorry' to him as well, but it was as if he could see it upon her face. He patted her on the shoulder as if to say she was forgiven. No words necessary. 

He held open the door, smiling at her as she got in. She didn't know how or why she had gotten so lucky in having met Harry, and everyone else to be completely honest. All she knew was that if this was turning a new page, she was kind of digging it and that maybe this whole being a better person thing wouldn't be so bad. 

"Thanks, Harry." She said, right before the elevator doors closed and she left a befuddled boy band member on the 22 floor of Columbia Records. She hoped one day things would be normal again, at least, as normal as they ever could be between them. Step five may have been the hardest, but it was definitely the most rewarding. That she knew now for sure.


	115. Chapter 115

Reagan had finally had enough. She was tired of letting Louis passively coexist and moodily sigh around the studio. So she did what she should have done in the first place.

The night wasn't too humid, in fact, it was the perfect temperature at the beachfront. She walked to Louis' door, sandals in hand, and heard the waves crash in the background.

Then she heard the swearing. 

"Fucking shit."

She turned to look towards the shore and saw, of course, a drenched Louis angrily shaking off droplets of water from his hoodie. She tried not to smile, and made her way over to him, yelling, "Why are you out here?"

"I thought it would be peaceful." He shook off his sleeve, "I was wrong." And then he looked up at her, "Wait, why are you asking why I'm here. You're the one trespassing." He added with a smirk. 

As Reagan approached him he looked at her up and down, as if remembering all those nights ago when he had told her that his best mate was in love with her and that she should just go for it. It felt like a lifetime ago to him, it was eerie. He felt so incredibly displaced. 

"As I recall, you don't even live here." She pushed back her hair as it got tangled in her face. The salty breeze was beginning to pick up. 

He smiled, actually quite grateful that she had shown up,"You're right."

Reagan stood beside him now, steadying him. He had obviously had a tad too much to drink. His grip was still strong upon her arm though, and honestly he relished the contact. Not in some weird kind of way, but rather just in the way that finally he had someone there to ground him. Harry hadn't even been round, he was probably sick of listening to his drunk rants. He knew he'd come back, he always did. But Harry had a tendency of feeling helpless whenever he couldn't do anything to ease the sadness of those around him. So Louis told Harry to leave for a while, just until he was okay enough to not have to pretend for Harry's sake. Harry had reluctantly followed Louis' wishes, but luckily Reagan just wasn't that type of person.

"You okay?" She asked, obviously worried. Reagan knew Louis, okay she had only known him for a few months, but she knew him enough to know that he wasn't the type to constantly get drunk. He wasn't the kind of person to shut himself away, to stop trying. He was so much better than this, so much better than this person he was becoming. 

"Been better."

But he was also incredibly stubborn, just like Reagan. He would never admit something was wrong. He'd rather drown his sorrows, figuratively and literally apparently. 

"I'd say." She replied, eyeing him up and down.

He shrugged. He had been caring less and less about what people thought of him. After the media began spinning things their way, no matter what Reagan did, his reputation just couldn't be salvaged. He would forever be labeled the womanizer, the unfit father, the pop star out of control. As much as Reagan did, and boy did she do a lot, he was left with two options. At least that's what Lydia had told him that afternoon. He could either take full responsibility for the child and Briana, and do the right thing, the traditional thing. Or, he could prepare himself for the custody battle of the year if Briana were to turn on him. He shook his head as he thought about it. Briana wasn't that type of girl, they remained friends, nothing else. They knew what they were to each other. And Louis was never the 'traditional' type of guys, so why would he pretend to be? He was just so sure that he could do this on his own if people just gave him the space to work it out.

But then again, he was a mess. Kennedy wouldn't talk to him, Briana didn't want to see him, and his whole life was falling apart. Everything he knew was changing. 

"Lou?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to talk to me, but this is not you. You are not this..." She looked at him and tilted her head slightly, "out of sorts usually. I don't like it. I understand, but that doesn't mean I like it."

"Well, I don't like it either."

"But..."

"But." He said with a loud sigh, "There isn't really much I can do about it."

"It's your life Louis, there's plenty you can do."

"Easy for you to say."

"Easy for me to say? You realize I too am now being thrown into this mess."

"Still not as bad as what I've got to put up with."

"Just take it one day at a time, Lou. Stop worrying about it. What happened to not giving a fuck about what people thought of you?"

"I still don't."

"Really? Is that why you're drinking yourself away?"

He mumbled something incoherently before saying, "What do you want from me, Rae?"

"This isn't you. You might think it is. You might think this is some way of exerting your freedom or something, but it's not. You're drinking yourself away, you're hiding yourself from the people that care about you, and for God's sake Louis, you're about to be a dad! Come on! Do you think your kid would want to see you like this?"

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Don't guilt trip me."

"I'm not guilt tripping you, I'm being honest with you."

"I know I've royally fucked up, Reagan. I know."

"That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that even though you messed up, you have the chance to make it okay. You have the chance to prove everyone wrong, to prove to yourself that you are the man that your child is going to look up to. To show us that the faith we've put in you wasn't misplaced."

Louis knew she was right. He knew that she wasn't doing this to be mean or cruel. She was being honest. Reagan got him, she wouldn't make him talk more than necessary, but she also wouldn't let him off easily. While she called him out on his bullshit, he needed someone to do that for him. He realized he was going to miss her just as much as the other boys when the time came for them to go their separate ways. He didn't think he would've ever formed such a bond with someone who was supposed to be their PR person. The person that he would least get along with on the team for obvious rebellious reasons. But there he was, allowing himself to be lectured by Reagan Bailey, their campaign manager. If you would've told him that he would become so fond of someone on their team, he would've called you mad, but it's funny how things happen.

"I just want to be okay again." He said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"And sometimes that's a perfectly acceptable goal. You guys haven't been able to take care of yourselves the past five years, take this break and use it to be selfish. Lock yourself in your house and watch Netflix all day. Lie in the sand all morning and get sunburned. Go away and don't come back for a while, it's okay. Make yourself whole again so your baby can see what an incredibly man you are." She said, smiling up at him and placing a hand on his arm. 

He tried not to get emotional, but it was getting increasingly hard as he was thinking of all the things that led him to this moment and how this time next year everything was going to be so incredibly different. 

He turned to Reagan, choking back his feelings and said, "Take care of him, okay. He may think he needs to take care of you, and you might hate it, but take care of each other. You two were made to take on the world together."

"You're making it sound like you're leaving forever or something."

He shrugged, "We won't be around each other as much anymore, things are changing Miss Reagan Bailey." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned in, "But I'll still be rooting for you, my girl."

She shook her head and smiled, "You smell disgusting, you need a shower."

"Really? I'm baring my soul and you're telling me I need a shower?"

"And a cup of coffee."

Louis sighed begrudgingly, "Alright, let's put the kettle on then."

He still kept his arm around her as they began walking back to his house. If anything, he was all too glad that he had the company. 

"So, how has Harry been holding up?"

"Upset of course."

"Stupid twat, always has to see everyone happy."

"Right, it's so annoying." Reagan said, jokingly. 

"I mean why can't he just let a person brood?"

"It's necessary sometimes."

"Exactly."

He sighed, "But the stupid bugger has a heart that's too big for that skinny body of his, it isn't his fault."

"Did you ever think it was possible for a person to care too much?"

"Not until I met Harry." He said with a smile.

"Same." She nodded.

He wasn't sure what would come next, but he hoped that no matter how far the six of them may be, they would still be as close as they were now. And that hopefully the next few months wouldn't change them too much, he still needed a home to come back to after all was said and done. 

"Reagan?" He asked as they made their way to his front door.

"Yeah?"

He looked at her head on, his eyes locking directly onto her as he mumbled, "Thank you."

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "Whatever, get inside. Let's get you settled in so I can family go home."

"What, was this like overtime?"

"Friends don't get paid for being friends" She said wearily, "Believe me, I would charge you if I could."

"So you do love me?"

"Don't push it."

"You love me! You love us!"

"I'm leaving."

"You said you'd make me coffee."

"Make it yourself."

"But I was going to shower."

"Fine." She exhaled, "Because we're friends."

Friends. Brothers. Family. Yes, these were certainly concepts that Louis had to re-associate himself with. Ultimately, he wasn't alone in the world, at least not anymore. He just had to remember that, even on the dark days.


	116. Chapter 116

Chaos, that was the only word Reagan could think of. She fidgeted with her earpiece, now understanding why the boys hated the stupid things. The perpetual screams behind the stage were interfering with the feedback, thus causing static. She didn't know how Lydia did it, didn't know if she could get used to it. Everything kept going wrong, and she was in a constant state of motion. Reagan was seriously considering a change in careers.

"Reagan, the boys need their cue cards!" A producer yelled from the hallway as she ran past them. Reagan shook her head and ran back to her bag in the boys' dressing room. 

Reagan grabbed the cards she had written out earlier that morning while Harry was still asleep. She didn't blame him, he hadn't slept at all that night. So she wrote away while he took a nap before the show. At least she got to spend the week with him before things really started getting hectic. After all, she was headed back to school in two weeks, and the boys were off to Europe to wrap up the tour. They were all going to be seeing less of each other, that is hopefully, until the end of promo season. Until then, Reagan would be working out of the main office in LA while the boys were off touring and being interviewed. While she might be away from Harry, she was quite pleased at the fact that she wouldn't have to be running around like this any more. 

As she handed the color coded cards off, another woman approached her and asked,"Hey, Niall messed up his hair again, can you send the stylist to the stage?" 

Reagan willed herself not to roll her eyes and instead got moving. She told herself it was a rite of passage, that she had to prove herself now more than ever, especially since she was now public with Harry. She had to work even harder to prove herself, and if that didn't say something about the way the world worked, then she didn't know what did. 

Her morning had consisted of making sure each of the boys was prepped and ready to answer any and all questions. After all, this was their first in depth interview in about a year. They had to be prepared, especially when considering the news they were about to drop on their fans. 

Reagan finally took a breather as she stood watching the screen before her in the break room. The interview was well on its way, and she had given up on the ear piece. There wasn't much she could do to stop them from doing stupid on live TV anyway, she only had so much power. 

"So we hear that you have an exclusive for us." The host said, leaning in towards the boys. She smiled as if she had a secret, making Reagan shake her head.

Liam nodded, looking at the other boys as if to make sure that he could tell this pretty little reporter the news they had been guarding for months, "Indeed we do, Laura."

"Well," She said looking out at the crowd, "I'm sure we're all anxious to hear what it is." The crowd erupted once more into screams and cheers. 

The boys laughed, as they should. Louis took command then, glancing in the direction of the cue card and saying, "It's been quite the year as you all may know."

"That's an understatement." The host said, "A member leaving, singles being dropped at midnight, a baby!" 

The crowd clapped and Louis tried his hardest not to flush, instead he continued, "Laura, love. You mind letting me finish?"

The host laughed but signaled for him to proceed.

"We, as a band, have decided to go on a hiatus."

Silence, dead silence. 

"For, um. For how long?"

Harry looked at the boys as if for reassurance, ignoring the cards that Reagan had made, "We don't know."

—✴—

"We all knew what we were getting into." Liam said as they sat in the break room. Harry had his head in his hands, as if meditating. Niall was pacing from one corner of the room to the other. And Louis, well Louis was trying his hardest not to spike the mug of coffee he was holding tightly in his grasp. 

Reagan watched them from across the room, pretending to be on her laptop. Truth was, she didn't even want to look at their Twitter feeds right now. The best thing for everyone would be to detach for a little bit. But, alas, she didn't have that luxury. The boys though, they did. Thanks to her of course. She had them pre-write their tweets last night and set them up to automatically post two hours after the interview. They wouldn't have to worry about facing the masses, at least not yet.

"It's all just so surreal." Harry said, finally looking up.

"Five years, mate. Just like that." Liam said.

"This is what it all comes down to." Louis said solemnly, "Us all going our separate ways."

"We still have the tour." Niall added.

"Yeah, but what about after that? What are we going to do when our responsibilities to each other are over?"

"Are you worried that we're going to stop being friends?" Liam asked, trying to hide his smile.

"Don't give me that look, Payno. I'm sorry I'm the only one genuinely considered about the state of this band."

"You're not the only one concerned." Harry said, shaking out his hair and looking at Louis, "We're all concerned. I think, maybe just a little less."

"And why less, what do you all know that I don't?"

Liam shrugged, "We don't know anything. I don't know, mate. I just...I never thought that the hiatus meant we would stop being friends...or family."

"Now who's getting sentimental." Louis chided.

"Shut up, twat. You were the one all worried and shit." Liam said taking a sip from his mug, "I don't know why you would be. You're going to be a dad, it's going to be impossible to keep us away from that little bugger."

"The band's first baby." Harry said smilingly.

"Oh good God, don't say it that way, you make it sound as if we all procreated together or something." Louis said furrowing his brow.

Reagan let out a laugh, making the boys all look at her. She shrugged, "What? Do you guys listen to yourselves?"

Louis brushed her off, "My point is...I don't want this to be the end of us."

Niall stopped pacing, "Why would it be?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. We don't know where we're all going to be in a year, you know? What if we decide we don't want to come back?"

"Then we don't." Liam said, way too dismissively.

"What do you mean we don't?" Louis said, not hiding his outrage.

"Sometimes you just need to move on."

"Are you saying you want to move on Payno?"

"Lou, I didn't say that."

"You literally just-"

"Stop. Okay? Just stop." Liam walked over to him and placed his hands on Louis' shoulders, "You're over thinking things. And maybe it's because of the baby, or maybe it's because all of this shit is happening at once, but you have to stop. We're taking a break from the band, not from each other."

Reagan tried to focus on her work, and not at the boys trying to keep it together before her. She didn't know how they would handle the spaces that would undoubtedly begin to form between them. She only hoped that Liam was right. 

"Liam's right, you know?" Harry said, patting Louis on the back.

"Yeah, I know." Louis said, trying to shrug them off. He wasn't too keen on physical contact at the moment, he felt anxious. 

"We're brothers." Niall mumbled, walking over and sitting next to Louis, "But brothers don't always stay together."

"Sometimes we need the space to grow up a bit. And hell, we'll come back even better, you know?" Liam added. 

"Alright, alright." Louis said, "Enough with the pity party, I'm over it."

Harry furrowed his brow, "You can't just-"

"Yes I can, and I did." Louis said, getting up from the couch and facing his three friends. 

"But-"

"But nothing. I'm okay. I will be okay."

The boys stared at him blankly and Louis sighed, "Reagan, tell them I will be fine."

"He will be fine." She said in a flat tone of voice.

"Wow, you know, you should be an actress. Quit this shitty job, go into Hollywood. I'm sure Harry can get you in the door."

Reagan flipped him off and continued writing. The boys laughed loudly, all of them trying to wrap their heads around the fact that their days were numbered. 

Five years ago, they never would have imagined this. Hell, they hadn't even met. But in five years they became family. They built a life together, and suddenly that life, that stability, it was going to be shaken. Suddenly they were faced with a great unknown once again, except this time, it felt like they were facing it along. And perhaps that's why this whole thing was so unnerving. They wouldn't be One Direction anymore, not for a while at least. They would each be their own person. They would define themselves, make their own labels, become their own person.

The only thing they could do was hope that the friendship they had was enough to weather whatever may come. 

"I think you guys are getting way too ahead of yourselves." Reagan said, finally closing her computer.

"How do you figure that?" Liam asked.

"You have until New Year's Eve, that's your last performance before the hiatus."

"That's still pretty far off." Niall said.

"Exactly. Live in the moment, don't worry about what may come. Right now, worry about the mess your announcement has made."

"Isn't that why we pay you?" Louis retorted.

"There is only so much I can do."

"You have much more power now though, you're Harry's girlfriend after all."

Reagan blushed, "I'm not using that as leverage."

"Why not, it's a bloody waste if you don't."

"You know how you guys want to be your own person? I do too. No offense, Harry."

Harry smiled up at her, "None taken, love."

"We all have to learn to love ourselves, but even before that, maybe we just have to figure out who we truly are or who we want to be."

"Which is why you're in favor of the hiatus?" Louis asked suspiciously.

Harry quickly interjected, "Well, that and she gets me all to herself for six months straight." He winked at Reagan and she rolled her eyes. 

"Look, you guys are a team, a family. Families can live continents apart, its just space, it doesn't change the love they have for each other." The boys looked at each and then at her, smiles spreading across their faces. She continued, "You guys will be fine. You're One Direction, after all."

"Damn straight." Louis said, sitting next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Thanks, Rae."

"Campaign manager, therapist, counselor, assistant; you name it I can do it."

"Chef?" Niall tried.

Reagan laughed, "No, but I have some take out menus back in the hotel. Why don't we all start heading back. And for the love of God, stop worrying about the hiatus. You guys are such whimps sometimes."

She sauntered out of the room before them, laptop in hand. They all looked at her and chuckled. Sure, that melancholic feeling still lingered. It engulfed them to be completely honet. But the could also feel the excitement that their impeding freedom was going to bring. 

"Let's go." Liam said, nodding towards the door, "It's been a long day."

The boys began their trek back to the hotel, but that feeling now was beginning to grow within them causing a complete erasure of the sadness that had marked them not even an hour before. They were going to redefine themselves, to finally get a chance to be who they always wanted to be before their path was chosen for them. And there was nothing greater than the realization that you have your whole life before you, and the freedom to do with it what you pleased. 

They were going to be free, finally, they were going to be free.


	117. Chapter 117

Harry sighed loudly as he laid upon his bed for the first time in about a month. It was slowly dying down; the rumors, the drama, the constant tabloid articles. He would like to think that meant that they were all okay now, but it was far from the truth. It was just a fuller news cycle and their news was beginning to be old. There was probably some other celebrity out there making bigger waves, and with all honesty, he did not mind that one bit. He was never one to catch up on all that publicity rubbish, but with the way it was affecting the band, he kind of had to keep an eye on it. When the day would become slow, he knew that reporters and paps would revert to adding on to One Direction's problematic narrative. There were already rumors swirling that there was a breakup on the horizon, and to add insult to injury, he couldn't help but think that there was friction growing between the boys. This entire situation just kept making him incredibly uneasy.

What made him uneasy in a completely different way was being so close to Reagan. He listened to her clacking away on her keyboard, watching her lay upon his bed, her head propped up by a mountain of pillows. Her hair was splayed behind her, her laptop balanced upon her lap. Her skin looked luminous, he wanted to touch it so badly. Just the fact that he was fingertip length away from her, but that he couldn't touch her, had his heart racing. 

Of course the drama had been dying down though, his intuitive and savvy Reagan had been working her arse off to make sure that their reputation would survive all of the hits it had been taking. She had once again manipulated the news to work in their favor. How he had gotten such an amazing woman to be his, he had absolutely no idea. He was always in awe around her. 

But of course, when she was in work mode he was not allowed to disturb her. She may have hesitantly agreed to come over, but that didn't mean she didn't have work to do. She came only on the condition that Harry would actually be quiet long enough for her to finish for the night. Harry, as much as it pained him, agreed. He had missed her more than usual the past few weeks. The way her nose slightly wiggled when she was contemplating something, the way her heart-shaped mouthed the words as she typed them. The way her fingers glided upon the keyboard, and her thoughts seemed to seamlessly come together. He didn't know how he had lived without her. How he could continue up and leaving, being weeks apart from her. So yeah, even if he had to stay completely and totally quiet, even if he had to keep his hands to himself even though she was so close to him, he would suck it up as long as she was there. 

She had come, perhaps, at the perfect time. Right when everything was about to settle into a new and weird kind of normalcy. A normalcy he had always fought against. But she would be his new normal, and normal really didn't sound too bad now. 

"Could you please stop staring at me. It's incredibly unnerving." Reagan said, not even bothering to look at him. Sure, she was becoming a little bit less self-conscious, but blatant staring still made her anxiety act up. 

"You just said you needed silence, you never said I couldn't look at you."

"You're not looking at me, Harry. You're like..." She turned to look at him and closed her laptop simultaneously, she tried to choose her words carefully.

"Devouring you with my eyes?" Harry said, deviously looking at her from behind one of the large pillows he was hugging to his lanky frame. 

Reagan smirked, "Yeah, you're devouring me with your eyes and it's seriously making me uncomfortable."

"I'll make you a deal." He said, sitting up and throwing the pillow to the side.

She hesitantly asked,"What's that?"

"I'll stop eating you with my eyes, if you let me eat you with something else."

She slapped his arm roughly, at least she thought it was rough because of the fact that the sound of her hand hitting his bare skin reverberated throughout the room. "You're so gross." She tried not to laugh, she had kind of set him up for that one. He rubbed his stinging skin, knowing he had deserved the slap, smirking to himself as she asked, "Is that the only reason you ask me to come over?"

"I asked you to come over," He said, scooting over to her side and laying his head in her lap, "Because I didn't want to be apart from you for one second longer."

Reagan sighed, and admittedly kind of melted inside. Things had been chaotic to put it nicely. Even if on the rare occasion Harry was in town, that didn't mean they were both free. He was getting less and less time off as the tour was coming to a close and promo season was about to commence, and she was throwing herself completely into her work. How quickly things were changing.

"We'll have time together soon." She said, running her hand through his now long hair. It had certainly grown much longer, the curls becoming more defined and much thicker. 

"Indeed." He said, into her t-shirt. He wrapped his arms around her thighs and breathed in. She smelled like lotion and warmth, and god he had really missed this. He had never thought he would. He was so used to being alone, to living alone. But now...now he couldn't think of living any other way. 

Reagan was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that Harry had innocently pulled up her shirt past her hips in his attempt to snuggle her. Wearing only some pajama shorts, she felt incredibly conscious of the fact that her stomach was showing, and that his chest was upon her bare thighs. 

Almost as if sensing her reluctance, he began kissing her soft skin. She tried not to shiver as he whispered, "You're perfect."

He looked up at her, those green, green eyes locking onto hers. She studied his dimpled cheeks, his slightly curled lip, his mass of curls. She made a composite of him, looking at him as if she had never truly laid eyes on him before. There was a new feeling that came in waves. She couldn't decipher it. It was a mixture of longing and familiarity. As if she had known him forever, but still hadn't spent nearly enough time with him. She hated it. She resented the fact that he had such a spell over her. But at the same time, she loved the overwhelming feeling he gave her every time they locked eyes.

"I missed you." She finally admitted, holding his head up to meet her gaze.

He felt it to, the same rush of emotions. But he didn't hate them, didn't resent them. He had kind of been waiting for something like this to come along, for her to come along. He knew how hard it had been for her, how much harder it was going to get. He didn't take it for granted one second all that she had done for him, for the band, and especially for herself. She had come a long way from that day she had run out of the men's toilets barefoot, "You've done an amazing job, Rae. I'm so proud of you." He almost whispered in his raspy voice. As if it were only for her to hear. 

"I'm proud of you too." She said, holding him closer to her, "You've finished the album, you're wrapping the tour up. It's going to be an amazing promo season for you guys, drama aside."

He looked up at her and shook his head, "Let's not talk about work right now."

"But you just-"

He placed a finger upon her lips, "I wasn't just talking about work. I meant that...you've changed a lot, love. I know you don't want to admit it, but it's been a hell of a few months for you. And look, I mean, you're thriving. You're doing so well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you and I'm so happy that you're okay."

"I've been okay, I don't know what you're-"

"Rae, please. Just let me give you the bloody compliment."

She rolled her eyes. She didn't want him to think she was some defenseless damsel in distress. She knew how to fight her own battles. But he was right, she had changed a lot, and it was nice that he had noted it. And okay, it was really nice that she was proud of her, that he didn't try to take the credit for her having done a complete 180. It took a different kind of man to believe he wasn't the end all and the be all, and Reagan was truly beginning to see that Harry was that type of man. 

"Okay." She smiled, trying not to cry. Because God, that was the last thing that she wanted to do. She was not a crier. She could not be a crier in front of Harry. Not when she already had her guard down.

"Alright." He said, shifting his body slightly so that he could pull her toward him and plant a kiss upon her lips. He didn't want to stop kissing her, but knew he had to at least ask, "When do you have to go home?"

"Oh." Reagan said, her lips curling into a half smirk, "I thought I was sleeping over."

"Are you now?"

"Well, I thought so. Wasn't that implied when you asked me over at nine o' clock at night?"

"Miss Bailey, this rather forward of you, what would your parents think?"

"They're out of town." She shrugged, wrapping her arms around him.

"Again?"

She nodded, "You know Zayn requires a lot of hands on attention."

Harry shook his head, "It's horrible that your father did that, it truly is."

She hadn't heard Harry say anything disapproving about the fact until now, it truly took her aback, "Um, yeah."

"But no, uh, never mind." Harry said catching himself. He did not want to pit Reagan and her father against each other. As terribly as Mr. Bailey had treated Reagan, she was out here building her own life and making her own name. What good would it do them to waste their energies on something that was rather irrelevant? "My point was...can you stay the night?"

She nodded, "We can even carpool in the morning."His smiled was so wide that Reagan started laughing, "Never thought you'd hear that coming from me, did you?"

"Not in a million years."

"Really? You're going to be that dramatic. You knew I liked you."

He nodded, "From the first day."

"I didn't like you the first day."

"Who wouldn't like me? I'm Harry Styles." He said, trying not to laugh at how pretentious he sounded.

"Oh, get off it. You knew I didn't like you then."

"Unfortunately, yes, I knew."

She peered at him, "When did you know you liked me?"

A soft smiled spread upon his face, "I don't know. Probably much sooner than you did."

"How soon?"

"I don't know. Isn't it cliche to say it's love at first sight? I mean, it wasn't that. But it was something. It definitely something at first sight."

So it was that kind of night, where all their emotions would indecipherable. She knew exactly what he meant, but what to call it? She had no idea. But she had felt it as well, she had felt it the moment they first spoke. It wasn't love, he was right. But what to label it, she wasn't it quite sure.

"What about you? When did you know?"

"That you were going to ruin my life?"

"Oh come on now, don't be mean." He hugged her tighter to him. 

She chuckled, "I'm not being mean. I'm being serious. You have turned my life completely and totally upside down."

"And?"

She kissed him, " I wouldn't have it any other way."

He smiled as she lingered upon his lips, welcoming her touch. It was truly bliss, this was complete and utter bliss. 

"You never answered my question." She finally said when she pulled away.

"Oh?"

"When did you know?"

He smiled, "The moment I met you."

"That's so cheesy."

He shrugged, "Maybe you knocked all the sense out of me when you slammed that door in my face and knocked me out."

"Okay." She nodded, "But then how do we explain me falling in love with you? I didn't get knocked out by anything. Am I really just that dumb?"

"You're so mean!" He said, toppling her back down onto the mattress and tickling her all over. She laughed wildly, trying to attack him back, but he wouldn't have it. 

Eventually they melted into each other, their laughs turning into silent whimpers and breathy sighs. As she laid next to him, her eyes slowly fluttering shut as they watched him drift into a peaceful sleep, Reagan was pretty sure all the choices she had made up until then had led her to Harry for a reason. And she was pretty sure that there was nowhere else she would rather be than right there by his side.

"I love you." She whispered, not caring that he was asleep. She needed to say it before she drifted into her own peaceful slumber. 

To her surprise though, he murmured, "I love you too, Reagan Bailey." Before wrapping her in his tight embrace and snoring lightly onto the top of her head. 

This was it, she realized. This was that thing that people spent lifetimes searching for, and she had found it with that hipster twig boy from the boy band her sister loved. Straight out of a tween fanfiction, cringe worthy and laughable indeed. But it was her own little love story, and nothing to her seemed better than being by his side. 

Absolutely nothing. 

T H E E N D


End file.
